Snowed In
by ChrissiHR
Summary: A/U, Jacob makes an offhand comment about his massive Alpha size one day and sets the wheels in motion; Bella is a curious girl, but her curiosity may have gotten the best of her this time. Two wolves vie for her attention, but all of them are mysteriously drawn to her. She needs to find out why and decide what she truly wants before things spin out of control. Pairings: Multi
1. Part I: BFWB, No More, No Less

**Pairings: **Bella/Jake, Bella/Embry, Bella/Quil, Bella/Embry/Quil, Bella/Mystery Wolf/Jake, Bella/Seth…? (Naughty Bella. ;)), Bella/Paul? (maybe) Epilogue: Bella/Final Pairing

**A/N:** Remember kiddies, werewolves may not get the clap or spread it to horny wolf pack groupies, but you could. Safe sex—always! Don't be silly, wrap your willy!

**Pre-reader:** meliz875 (Where there be Embry smut, there be Mel.)

She offered up a suggestion as recommended listening for this chapter; "Gorilla" by Bruno Mars. ;)

**Timeline:** Post-New Moon, no cliff-jump, the Cullens never returned.

**_Warning: _**_Lemons ahead! Ye be warned! This one is rated M for a reason!_

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******Part I: Best Friends With Benefits, No More, No Less**

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It was Embry's turn to babysit her.

Ugh. She hated that term, _babysit_. Like she was a misbehaving toddler who needed someone to keep her from putting strange things in her mouth.

Jake would have pulled all-day babysitting duty on any other day of winter break gladly, but he had to run up to Harvey's U-Pull-It in Port A to get parts for her ailing truck. She wouldn't have minded spending the day with Jake. He was much easier company now that they had well and truly settled into their roles as only best friends. Victoria had been after her for the better part of the past year and Jake had been just as persistent.

Bella had done her best, even given Jake a chance and taken a swing at dating, but whatever needed to be there just wasn't at the moment**—**for either of them. It didn't prevent them from fumbling through a very awkward first time together on the sagging couch in his garage, though. He came too quickly and she, not at all. They ended up sweaty and laughing, wrestling naked until Quil and Embry had walked in on them, still naked and wrapped up in each other under a blanket, clothes strewn all over the garage, arguing over which movie saga was better**—**the Indiana Jones trilogy or the Star Trek Next Generation movie series.

Bella thought Jean Luc Picard was kind of hot for an old guy.

Jake told her with a smirk that he wasn't surprised that she thought the old guy was hot.

Her hand shot out to cuff him upside the head and she bounced in his lap, her taut, rosy nipples brushing his sweat-slicked chest. He gripped her hips to keep her from sliding off, pulling her close, and slipped right into her wet heat again, no fumbling necessary. They might have gotten it right that time if Quil and Embry hadn't had the world's worst timing.

"Yo, Jake!"

Bella yelped and clutched the blanket tighter, effectively squeezing Jake inside her. He came again abruptly, groaning into her throat in equal parts relief and frustration.

Wide-eyed, Quil and Embry beat a hasty retreat, mumbling apologies and backing away as quickly as possible.

Bella relaxed and Jake slid out of her. He leaned his forehead against hers, "Are we ever going to get this right?"

"Honestly?" she laughed a little, rubbing her nose against his. "I was born clumsy and you're a horny, undersexed sixteen year old wolf-man-boy. I think this might be the best we can hope for right now."

They'd done it quite a few times since and they were both improving with practice, but it had more to do with whiling away a boring afternoon than it did any burgeoning romantic feelings between them. They were just a little too comfortable with each other and they both thought that real romance required a certain sexual tension and anticipation that they lacked.

She felt more like Jake's sex training wheels than anything else.

His idea of foreplay was clicking off the TV and putting down the remote before he started in with, "There's nothing on TV. Let's go take a shower. I wanna show you something I picked out of Paul's brain when we were phased together the other day after his date with the twins."

"Oh, yeah? Twins? I guess you _will_ have to show me because I just can't imagine." She'd climbed onto his lap to straddle his waist and licked at his lips tauntingly while he pulled her shirt over her head.

It ended up being her favorite shower ever.

She wondered, though, how Paul had managed _that_ with twins.

She thought she might pay money to see that.

She and Jake were exactly what they told everyone they were**—**best friends. They just failed to mention the awesome 'benefits' part**—**and make no mistake, it was _good_. Eventually.

Jake was a quick study in all things, but it was never going to be more than just sex and they eventually decided they were both okay with that. They even tried to set each other up on blind dates with friends, but nothing ever really came of it. They'd grown complacent with one another.

Bella hoped Jake would imprint one day, hopefully before she went to college. She would worry less when she left, but she wasn't going anywhere any time soon. The pack couldn't protect her as easily if she went to school because there weren't any great options near the rez. Her life was on hold while a psychotic vampire spent every moment of every day contemplating, planning, or trying to kill her.

So here she sat with Embry at his house on a chilly winter afternoon in late December, with nothing to do and no chance of getting laid anytime soon, with her best friend and occasional fuck buddy, Jake, all the way up in Port A for the day.

Embry had no idea what to do with her. The rest of the pack had become accustomed to Jake pulling Bella duty whenever he was available, so she didn't spend as much time with the others, especially Quil and Embry. They could hardly look her in the eye after walking in on her and Jake, no matter how many times Jake tried to explain that they were just friends.

She thought about her conversation earlier that week with Jake …

_"Bells, I was just phased with Jared and he showed me this awesome massage thing he and Kim tried. Take your clothes off so I can show you."_

_Bella sighed, "Jake, you know I'm game to try anything once, but it's weird that you keep picking through your brothers' brains for tips."_

_"I didn't hear you complaining after the Paul-inspired shower," he leered._

_"No … but … listen, if you spend all your time with me, how will you ever meet a girl? Or, more specifically, your imprint? Someone who_ _will__ mind if you talk about oil changes mid-coitus? Seriously, girls are going to expect a bit more focus and intensity. It's not all just fun and games and clandestine blowjobs while you try to keep a straight face and carry on a conversation on the phone with your Alpha."_

_Jake chuckled, remembering that call with the esteemed older Alpha. Sam had accused him of smoking dope with Old Quil and not taking any damn thing in life seriously._

_"Bells …" he whined. "How will I improve my technique without practice? You're providing a much-needed service here. My future girlfriend will appreciate all the work you've put into me."_

_"Have you even __met__ another girl in the last six months?"_

_"Leah Clearwater," he said without hesitation._

_"A girl who __hasn't__ phased and joined the pack?"_

_"No … but-"_

_"You know what? You should ask her out."_

_"Who?"_

_"Leah Clearwater."_

_"She'll bite my face off."_

_"You heal fast."_

_"I could never have sex with her."_

_"Why not?" she demanded._

_"I'd be terrified the whole time. One wrong word and she'd rip my dick off."_

_"You'll grow one back."_

_"We heal. We don't regenerate, Bells," he rolled his eyes._

_"Hmm … shame," she said contemplatively. "If you did regenerate, do you think it would grow back even bigger?"_

_"__Bigger__? Bells, I'm the biggest in the pack as it is. How big do you want it?" he asked incredulously._

_She hummed appreciatively. He __was__ exceptionally large. Then she clued in to the rest of what he said, "Wait a second, how do you know __you're__ the biggest?"_

_"I'm supposed to be Alpha someday. I'm the biggest, baddest, fastest, __and__ strongest wolf. The Alpha is always the best at everything__**—**__and the biggest."_

_"Oh, really? That's the kind of claim that can't go unverified, Jacob. Inquiring minds, you know," Bella smirked, leveling a challenging look at her best friend._

_Jake got a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach that Bells was either about to do something really stupid or something __he__ would come to regret because of his idiotic teenage need to brag about whose cock swings the lowest. He was sure it was __his__, but still…_

She and Embry sat at opposite ends of the couch. He stared at his hands in his lap while she watched him and wondered how she could find out just how big Embry was without being rude or sounding like a werewolf groupie. She got up slowly and moved as stealthily as she could**—**closer to his end of the long sofa, but being Bella, there was no such thing as stealthy. She took two steps and tripped, falling, arms wheeling wildly. She closed her eyes and held her breath, bracing herself for the inevitable impact.

It never came. Hot arms tightened around her and she popped one eye open in curiosity as she remarked incredulously, "I'm not on the floor."

Embry chuckled and shifted his grip to cradle her more carefully, "No."

"Thanks, Emb." She grinned. "You were supposed to have the easy gig today, you know. No vampires. Thanks for catching me. I'd rather spend the day here than in the hospital with another concussion."

He snorted and started to loosen his hold as he sat on the couch with her in his arms.

She stilled his movement with a tiny, cool hand on his forearm, "Don't! Please? I'm cold, always cold." She shivered. "You're so warm and I can't get hurt again if I stay right here for a few minutes, right? Less work for you, what with trying to keep me alive and saving me from myself all the time." She kept the easy smile on her face, hoping he'd return it and relax a little.

He watched her curiously as she closed her eyes and turned into his warmth for a snuggle. She knew she'd be welcome. None of the wolves would deny her their heat. They knew she was terminally cold from long term vampire exposure. Even Paul had been known to wrap his arms around her to share his warmth at a bonfire from time to time when Jake was on patrol. She may not be an imprint, but she was definitely sister, friend, _pack_.

She ran her fingers lightly up and down the firm, corded muscles of Embry's thick, bronze arms. He smelled so good, like butterscotch and that savory, salty musk all men seem to have.

Embry shifted a little uneasily under her head, her pheromones invading his senses, creeping like a thief in the night past all his best intentions. He could lie to his brothers, but he couldn't lie to himself. He wanted Bella Swan. He loved how tiny and feminine she was**—**all pale pink skin and rosy blushes with that waterfall of mahogany hair that he wanted to bury his face in.

He wrestled with his own inner demons. He knew for certain she had some kind of intimate relationship with Jake. The two of them swore up, down, and sideways that they were just best friends. Embry and Jake were best friends, though, and he'd never ridden Jake to a screaming finish on that ugly, old couch in his garage.

Jake and Bella could think they were being discreet all they wanted, but Bella was a wailer and Jake's wolf had a tendency to growl when he fucked her and roar when he finished. They'd be hard-pressed to find someone left on the rez who didn't know they were fucking like wild monkeys every chance they got. Billy turned an amused, blind eye to it, but the pack hadn't really figured out how to ignore it yet. Jake was always wrapped in a thick cloud of her lingering lust these days. He could shower and brush his teeth all he wanted, but he exuded Eu de Swan Kitty twenty-four hours a day lately.

It was a scent Embry and his wolf wouldn't mind wearing themselves. He considered the reasons for that carefully. Did he want Bella because Jake was supposed to be Alpha? Did his wolf just want to pee where the top dog had? Sam was imprinted. There was no competition for mates from that quarter of the pack. Jared might as well be a eunuch as far as teenage girls besides Kim were concerned.

Paul would always have a roving eye. Fortunately for him, his imprint didn't spend much time at home on the rez and didn't mind if he fucked other girls, as long as they weren't her friends**—**which immediately unticked Paul's 'lay Bella' box. Rachel had made her wishes clear and the imprint bond was strong enough to keep Paul from straying into those particularly dangerous waters. He should really be grateful that his imprint was smart enough to keep him from shitting where he ate. He'd had far fewer angry fathers and husbands with shotguns on his doorstep since he'd imprinted.

Quil was a little different. He had imprinted on a baby. He was firmly and permanently 'Uncle Quil' in little Claire Young's eyes. Embry wasn't sure if he pitied him or envied him. On the one hand, he'd never have the deep spiritual, sensual connection with his imprint that Jared and Sam had. On the other hand, he could fuck anything that said 'yes' that caught his attention and never feel a moment's remorse for the rest of his life. The imprint left him with no driving need to find a lifelong mate. He ended up with a sex drive that matched his un-imprinted brothers' needs. He was just another horny teenager in the body of a much older, hotter guy.

He was startled out of his musings by Bella's little elbow nudging his leg, "Stop."

"Stop what?" he was lost. What had he been doing that she could object to?

"Stop thinking so loud. Stretch out with me and lay down. The snow is supposed to start soon. Let's have a nap," she suggested.

"I can't. I'm on duty. What if Victoria breaks through the line and shows up here while you and I are asleep?"

"Then don't sleep. Just lay down with me. I want to talk to you about something anyway." She tugged on his shirt sleeve, noticing for the first time that he was wearing a shirt for once. She looked at it like it was a foreign object that she couldn't place or name.

Embry laughed, "Mom still doesn't know. I had to keep up pretenses this morning when she was packing for her trip up home to the Makah rez to visit her sisters for the week, which means wearing a shirt."

"Your mom went without you?"

"I have patrol, responsibilities here. Billy told her a little white lie for me. She knows I work for the tribal council. She thinks I work at the tribal center, as the tribal historian's intern. She's been very impressed by that because I'm half-Makah. She thinks it's a sign that the tribe is finally accepting me."

"Little does she know just how much a part of the tribe you really are…" Bella mused a little sadly. "Come, lay with me. Stop thinking deep thoughts. I have a question for you."

Embry lifted Bella like she weighed no more than a kitten, rearranging her in his arms and laying back down on the couch with his head propped up on the arm at one end and his feet dangling off the opposite end. Bella settled in beside him, front-to-front, and laid her head on his bent arm, settling in for a cozy chat.

He brushed a strand of hair off her forehead. She closed her eyes, shivering**—**just a little**—**at his tender touch. He apologized, "Sorry, didn't mean to make you chilly. Just wanted to see your eyes. They're really pretty. I don't often get to see them up close."

"Embry," she started, easily ignoring the comment about her eyes because she knew he was just trying to be nice, chewing her lip as butterflies danced madly in her belly, "you know Jake and I are just friends, right?"

He nodded, growing suspicious of the direction the conversation was taking now that he had her in his arms. He thought back to a conversation Jake had replayed in the pack mind recently, something he'd said to Bella and her response that left him unsettled and a little concerned.

"You know Jake loves you, right, Bells?"

She sighed, "I do. I know. It's complicated. There's no romantic love there, though, Emb. I'm not his imprint and he deserves to be free of complications when he _does_ finally find her. Maybe if I give him the impression that I can move on, he'll try to as well."

Embry knew she meant what she said, but he also saw the little flicker of doubt, the disappointment in her eyes. She wouldn't have minded being Jake's imprint**—**having that kind of guarantee would wipe away more than a year's worth of pain and disillusionment with love and romance. Her ex-leech had really done a number on her self-worth.

So that's what this was all about? Forcing Jake to move on to his own happiness? Embry wondered why Jake hadn't told her yet. It was crazy that he would keep that kind of secret from her when he had no qualms about fucking her on every flat surface on the rez.

He'd seen some of the shit the two of them had done in the name of friendship and he was impressed. It reminded him of her soft weight as it lay against him, her breasts rubbing teasingly over his chest.

He willed his dick to behave, trying to think of baseball scores, his grandma naked, the time he caught Quil beating his meat to a picture of Betty White. ("What? She's got a filthy mouth for an old broad!") Yup. That did it every time. He exhaled silently as his dick twitched and the straining zipper of his shorts slackened its biting pressure against his throbbing boner.

"You know how Jake is. He was bragging the other day-"

"-about having the biggest dick in the pack," Embry smirked. "Yeah, I know. He thought about it when we were phased together afterward. What do you want to know Bella? You want to know if he's the fastest? He is, except when Leah's phased. They run neck and neck. You want to know who's the strongest? It's probably Quil, but Jake might be just as strong. Quil's pretty broad. Built like his dad was, a big, brawny Quileute fisherman, but so was Billy before he got stuck in the chair. The baddest wolf? Gotta be Paul, unless Jake is flipping out worrying about you or chasing a leech who's after you."

"So what does that make you, Embry?" Bella's lashes fluttered down to brush against her alabaster cheeks. Embry wanted to lean over and kiss them, a gentle caress of lips pressed with all the reverence of the faithful kneeling in supplication at the altar of a deity. He felt a little lost in Bella himself. He wanted to do the right thing by Jake, but was that revealing the secret Jake was keeping from her or could he best serve their friendship by giving Jake the shove he needed to do the right thing himself?

"What do you want to know?" Embry whispered.

"If Leah might be the fastest and Quil might be the strongest and Paul might be the baddest, then maybe…"

"Maybe…?"

She turned it around, enjoying toying with Embry as she heard the uncertainty in his voice, musing, "If Jake might not be the fastest, strongest, or baddest, then it stands to reason …"

"Yeah…?" the anticipation was killing him.

She ran a hand up his thigh, pressing her little palm against the firm ridge of his cock through his shorts, "Maybe you're something else altogether, Emb."

"Hmm? Like what?" his voice cracked. Embry held his breath, waiting for her to ask the question he knew was coming**—**if he was the biggest.

A slow smile spread across her face as Bella took in poor Embry's predicament. She knew what he thought she was going to ask, so she switched gears, leaning in, flicking her tongue across the little dip of his cupid's bow, running the tip of her tiny pink tongue over his top lip, bathing him in the honeyed scent of her sweet, fresh breath as she decided which wrench to throw in his works first.

"Maybe you're the _tastiest_," she breathed into his open mouth. "Can I suck your cock, Embry?"

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**Endnote:** _R__eview, review, review. :D The more reviews this one gets, the more likely I am to update it sooner. Positive reinforcement like reviews are my best motivator._

_I want to extend massive thanks to all those who voted for my Paul/Bella holiday one-shot "Holidaze" in the Tricky Raven Holiday Contest for Authors and Artists. "Holidaze" won the First Place Author Award!_


	2. Part II: Getting Nippy

**A/N:** You again? Back for more of the porny bits, eh? Well, welcome back then, to the Mystic Order of Smutteers and remember mah babehs, always practice the safe sex! Like your life depends on it—because it does! Before you stick her, put on a slicker!

Since the FCAs have been temporarily postponed until Saturday, I thought I'd post a day early and give you all something to read to tide you over for a bit because I'm selfless like that. Ha! ;)

**Pre-reader:** meliz875 (Mel finally gets some Embry goodies. I mean Bella does. Mel just gets some jollies, finally. Persistence pays off.)

**Banner:** Dontcallmeleelee (Story and chapter banners are all posted under the group 'Snowed In" over on Tricky Raven and they are smokin' hot! You should definitely go check them out!)

**Soundtrack:** I typically write in a vacuum of sound with ear plugs in. Mel is the one with an ear for the tunes, so I decided to try her method one time by listening to LMFAO's "I Am Not A Whore" for inspiration for this chapter. Pfft! Bella lies! She loves the cock!

**Timeline:** Post-New Moon, no cliff-jump, the Cullens never returned.

**_Warning: There be limey-lemony bits!_**

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Part II: Getting Nippy

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"Wha … ? What?" Embry's arms tightened around her in shock as his inner wolf's ears snapped to attention and he sat up on his haunches in his mind, asking, _Mate? Mine?_

Embry tried to relax his hold and gave the wolf a mental buffet, the equivalent of an elbow to the ribs. _No … not yours. Not mine either. Jake's,_ he said pointedly.

The wolf growled low, for Embry's inner ear alone, chanting, _Claim._ _Mine._

_No. Don't be an asshole. It's probably because of the thing with Jake. Let me handle this,_ Embry reasoned with the wolf.

The wolf receded to the shadows of their shared mind, pacing angrily and rumbling a low growl of contention.

Bella shifted restlessly in his hold, her bare foot stroking up his smooth calf, resting her bent knee over his thigh. Her lust had practically become a living thing since she and Jake had taken each others' virginity in his garage months earlier, more so when she was with a member of the pack than any other. She thought she'd done well hiding it, reining it in, channeling it into meeting Jake's and his wolf's physical needs, but the drive for this intangible _thing_ was growing. Her sudden, desperate need for something unnamable writhed deep in her belly like angry cobras, snapping and biting, chasing at shadows, pushing her to push him-them-for … something. She wasn't sure what it was or from where it had come. She just knew this frenzied _need_ all of a sudden, "I want to taste you."

_Fuck,_ he thought, straining to control his body's response to her candid admission. He wanted that, too.

Embry glanced down at her small foot unconsciously rubbing his leg, the deep burgundy-colored toenails an unexpected and enticing little surprise. He'd forgotten that Leah had talked her into the bold color a few nights ago when Friday night and her Bella-duty had coincided. They'd made a girls night of it, manicures, pedicures, _waxing_…

Leah had laughed when she'd inadvertently shown it in the pack mind and the guys had all cringed and simultaneously salivated over the girls' newly-waxed bits. They'd helped each other remove the unwanted hair while they drank their Cherry Cokes in Leah's room and laughed at Seth trying to drown out their noise with the thumping bass of his stereo.

Leah was all about the landing strip, Embry recalled. The less hair she had to contend with on her days off duty, the better.

Bella preferred a more natural look, he remembered, her soft, auburn curls needing just a little tidying up around the edges. She'd applied a delicate chamomile and honey-scented lotion afterward to soothe the stinging skin.

Embry thought he'd like to run his tongue along the edges, tickling the tender, pink skin there, and bury his nose deep in those perfumed, chestnut curls.

The wolf rumbled with pleasure, his thoughts a soft, rocking susurration, _Take, lick, groom, mate…_

Embry shook his head, clearing it of _those_ thoughts.

He watched her as she fidgeted, absentmindedly drawing light circles in the sparse hair on his chest. She'd stop occasionally, running her fingers through it, tickling as she dragged her nails across his skin.

The wolf stretched indulgently in reaction to her caresses and scratches, rolling to his side, a hind foot kicking involuntarily as his tail thumped the forest floor Embry pictured him lying on.

Embry resisted the urge to stretch like his wolf, leaning into her touch, so tempted to take what she offered without question, instead brushing a careful thumb across the apple of her cheek and a tentative kiss to her petal-soft lips, "Bells," he sighed, pulling back, leaving a few millimeters of space between them and resting his forehead on hers so he could pause briefly to gather his thoughts before he asked, "What about Jake?"

"Jacob and I are _not_ together, Embry. He's my best friend. It's … physical, not- not _romantic_. It's fun and it's better than watching him play video games when we don't have anything better to do. Besides, I think his wolf is becoming kind of apathetic about looking for Jake's imprint. My scent is all over both of them all the time and I _know_ the wolf likes me. He's content, at least, but maybe the wolf is _too_ content with the arrangement that Jake and I have, so he's just not pushing Jake to find his imprint anymore. Jake _deserves_ to find his soulmate, Emb. _You_ could help me with this. Maybe if his wolf smells other males on me, he'll starting looking to sow his oats elsewhere. It might be just the push Jake and his wolf need."

Embry didn't doubt that it would definitely be the push that Jake and his wolf needed-just not for the same reasons Bella thought it would be.

He cocked one eyebrow dubiously, his lips quirking in wry amusement as he ran a hand down her side and squeezed her hip, "Is that what you really think? That _this_ will fix what's wrong between you and Jake? You know Jake and his wolf love y-"

"How many times do I have to repeat this? There's nothing _wrong_ between me and Jake." Bella snorted in disgust. "Listen, you saw Jacob and I talking in the pack mind the other day, right? The whole 'I'm the biggest, baddest wolf' thing?"

He nodded.

"So you saw me telling him he should ask Leah out, then. For god's sake, Emb! I've set him up on blind dates! I _want_ him to move on. What I need-I'm not getting it from Jake. There's this hole he just can't fill-"

Embry barked a bemused laugh at Jake's expense.

"That's not what I meant, Emb! Oh my god!" she huffed in exasperation.

She shook her head, sloughing off the niggling doubt. "I feel like there's something missing when Jake and I are together. Whatever needs to be there isn't there for me, but I'm still a woman. I still have a need to be wanted, desired, you know? Jake doesn't... I feel like Jake's playmate, like any woman would do in my place. I'm telling you, his wolf just sees me as a sure thing! Besides, do you honestly think I would be here right now-that Jake would have left me alone with one of his pack brothers for an entire day-without suspecting that something like this might happen? We're _just_ friends-best friends with benefits-no more, no less. I can suck any cock I want. Jacob doesn't care," she growled.

He blinked, knowing she was wrong about Jacob not caring, but slowly coming to the realization that she was right about something else. Jacob had been possessive for months, never letting her out of his sight. Why should today be any different? Especially _now_, knowing what he knew about Jake and Bella? It was almost like Jake was trying to prove something to himself. "You … you think he did this on purpose? That he wants me- you and- and me to…"

"I think that's exactly why. Maybe he didn't do it intentionally, but subconsciously, I think he knew that this was going to happen. He knows when I make up my mind about something, there's no changing it." She nuzzled her head against the plumped flesh below the crook of his elbow, sliding forward until her temple rubbed his shoulder as if to make herself more comfortable, like she was there to _stay_.

"Yeah, but I'm pretty sure he didn't think you were going to- to offer to do _that_," Embry frowned, a little less certain of his perception of Jake's feelings, furrows of doubt wrinkling his brow. He couldn't reconcile the possessiveness he felt from Jake's mind when they were phased together with the fact that he'd left Bella in _his_ care alone just days after showing him the bizarre conversation and challenge he knew damn well Bella intended to carry out.

"Are you saying 'no', Embry?" she teased the dark fuzz on his chest into little swirls, biting her lip as she watched the individual hairs flick and spiral away from the others when she let go. She gazed into his eyes, her lashes fluttering once, twice as she worked up to voicing what she wanted most, "Don't. Don't say no, Emb. Please?"

Embry's resolve was waning as the wolf reacted to Bella's pleas, _Want! Take!_

The wolf pushed the human to take what was offered. The wolf felt no guilt at giving the girl what she wanted if the true Alpha was too slow or stupid to recognize a good thing when he had it. Embry struggled to remember why he was resisting in the first place. His hand splayed across Bella's hip, fingers digging into the supple flesh of her behind, drawing her lower half closer, he twined his legs with hers, hitching her leg up higher over his hip to grind her lightly against his hard length.

"Answer me something first?"

"Anything you want."

"Why me?"

"I know there's a code between guys and you and Quil would never … umm … go there, I guess, unless I asked. The thing is, I've always wondered, if it weren't for that, that _damn code_ between guys and their friends-which I totally respect under normal human circumstances!" Bella swore as her eyes widened without a trace of guile. Her cheeks reddened as she went on, trying her hardest to look him in the eyes and say exactly what was on her mind and in her heart despite her crippling shyness when it came to talking about intimacy rather than just sex, "I've always wondered what it would be like to … if you and I… "

Embry's gaze flicked back and forth between her solemn eyes and he thought he finally understood. Bella was taking what she needed to be sure, too. She was making a choice, not to settle for second best, not to just take the easy road and what was being offered. She wanted to _know_, before she made a decision that was irreversible.

Embry nodded in understanding, tilting his head forward to rest his brow on top of her head and whispering, "If we do this … _if_ we eventually do this, I need you to promise me something, alright? We'll still be friends. No regrets, okay? I'm not stupid enough to tell you 'no, you can't suck my dick' because that's a dream-fucking-come-true and I'm still a teenage boy," he chuckled, "but my answer will be 'no'-'absolutely no'-if you can't promise me that much. I know how you feel about Jake. I'm not stupid. We're going to be in each others' lives for a long time coming, Bells. I don't don't want to fuck this up or make it weird and it's weird enough as it is knowing about you and Jake."

She felt the tremors of desire ripple along his skin and mistook them for the wolf's agitation. She shared her breath with him, drawing in deep, calming draughts of air through her nose in an effort to help him compose himself and his wolf. She could feel his heart pounding under her palm. When his breathing eased a bit, she pressed her lips to his to seal it as she promised, "Deal. Now get your pants off."

The wolf's lip curled in pleasure, snapping at Embry, _Mine._

Embry chuckled at his wolf's eagerness, _Not yet. Relax. Soon, maybe, if we don't fuck it up. Jake needs a push to fix this and Bella needs to be sure of her choice. We're just the asshole friends to do it for him and __his__ wolf. She's not going to be ours, though. Understand? This is a favor for our friends._

"Bells?"

"Yeah?"

"Promise me?" he asked against her lips.

"Anything," she breathed, the snakes of desire in her belly coiled in preparation for his acquiescence.

"The still friends thing?"

"Always, Embry," then she kissed him, capturing his lips in hers. She pulled his full bottom lip between her teeth, nibbling on it, sucking the warm full, flesh into her mouth, flicking her pink kitten tongue out to lick at his hot tongue, stroking it; one side, then the other.

The flavor of her lips was intoxicating to his wolf.

_Take,_ the wolf growled. He crouched low on his front paws in Embry's mind, haunches up, wiggling and ready to leap at the first sign of his human's compliance, eager to pounce on the girl, to give her all she asked for, everything she needed.

_Give,_ the wolf insisted with a crooning growl.

That '_give_' startled Embry more than anything else the wolf had ever said to him. The wolf had basic needs and was inherently selfish. He knew one job; kill vampires, protect tribe, but he _liked_ killing vampires, so protecting the tribe was just an added benefit, not a driving need for the wolf. As long as Embry met their other needs, the wolf was content, but the wolf sometimes pushed for his own wants, especially physical needs. He'd never expressed a wish to do something for someone else, never coaxed Embry to please someone besides himself, the wolf.

Embry's hands roamed, pleased he and his wolf were on the same page for once. He wrapped his arms around Bella, turning over onto his back, dragging her atop him. He tangled one hand in the hair at the nape of her neck; his long, slim fingers stroking the soft skin there briefly, sliding down her spine as the other hand reached down and cupped the firm globe of the small, round cheek he'd been gripping before, kneading her fevered flesh as she parted her legs. She draped one on either side of his waist and rocked gently against the firm, resistant ridge of flesh pressed at the apex of her thighs. The hand on her back trailed down her spine, over her ribs, eventually dragging his nails back up her side.

She twitched at the tickling sensation, laughing a little into the kiss.

He brushed his fingertips lightly over her breast and she moaned into his mouth, exhaling that sweet, intoxicating fragrance of hers so he could taste _her_, too.

The wolf wanted to roll in that scent, wallow in it, bathe in it for days.

Bella's little hands caressed Embry, one at his cheek, drawing him deeper into the kiss, the other resting on his biceps, the hard muscles quivering under her gentle touch. She took a moment to appreciate Embry's long, lean torso and slim, muscular build-not that she'd never noticed it before. He was just so different from her Jacob.

Her hand trailed along his abs. She tugged at his tank top in a silent request for him to take it off. He happily complied, quickly pulling it over his head and throwing it to the floor before wrapping his arms around her once more.

"This is dangerous," Embry murmured against her lips. "It would be so easy to want you, to keep you for myself, to let myself fall in love with you. So complicated."

"Complicated isn't a bad thing, just different. Besides, I have terrible luck at love. Better to be friends and love each others' bodies. Safer," she voiced her thoughts aloud, pressing kisses along his jawline, behind his ear, licking and lapping at his throat occasionally before working her way down the long column to his collar bone. She started to work her way out to his shoulder, trailing her tongue wetly over his heated, quivering flesh.

Embry's hand dipped between her thighs, below her ass, to stroke at the source of the heat pressed against his straining cock. He pushed against the seam of her jeans, knowing that little bit of friction would both ease and inflame her need.

She groaned, pushing against his hand, "Emb, please…"

Using his long middle finger, he stroked back and forth over the seam, he and the wolf preening in satisfaction when she began to rock against it, seeking the pleasure of his tentative fingers.

Her movements became more intent, her hands gripped him tightly, her breathing deepened, and her kisses became more fervent. She dragged her teeth over the soft flesh at the juncture of Embry's shoulder and throat.

He twisted his head, pulling his throat from her mouth to drop to her height and press his lips to her soft, rounded shoulder, panting as he begged with an amused chuckle, "Easy there, Vampirella. No biting."

Bella groaned in frustration. Somehow he knew she'd been about to give him a little nip with her teeth. God, she _wanted_ to. Jacob had loved that. She remembered the first time she'd bitten him in the heat of the moment-it was the first time they'd 'done it' and finally gotten it right without any catastrophic mistakes. He came, erupting like gangbusters, and flooded her body with cum so thick and copious, they'd both had to shower and scrub like hell afterward. She'd smelled like him for days. His wolf had been enormously pleased, she remembered. Jake had barely been able to leave her side in the days afterward while his scent had been so thick and entwined with hers. He'd tried to explain to her that it was a wolf thing, but she wasn't sure she'd really understood, especially with Embry putting her off.

She licked at Embry's throat again experimentally, kissing there instead since he seemed to like that so much.

His injunction on biting hurt her feelings a bit. Jake's wolf had loved it. Why wouldn't Embry's? Were their wolves really so different?

She shook away the questions, giving in once more to her rising lust as Embry's talented fingers stroked her into submission through her jeans. God, she just wanted them _off_ already!

She was about to tell Embry as much when he sat up abruptly, repositioning her in his lap with her back pressed to his chest and her ass over his groin, grinding into her from beneath. He knew what she needed, murmuring soft reassurances against her shoulder blade as his hands set to work unbuttoning her jeans. He worked them open and down a little, sliding one hand inside, tickling at the elastic at the top of her panties and waiting for her eager nod of assent before dipping a hand under the dark green lace. His fingertip brushed over the auburn curls, sinking between her slick folds.

She sighed in relief, but it was momentary. Almost immediately, she began to struggle in delicious torment, her body silently begging for more.

He pulled the moisture from her heated cleft to stroke her clit with his thumb, burying his two middle fingers deep inside her tight channel without preamble. He hooked them up inside her, brushing against her G-spot with a curl of his long, supple fingers.

She sobbed. Pleasure, pain-they were indistinguishable to her. She only knew that she wanted _more_.

His other hand slid beneath her T-shirt, pushing her bra aside to flick and tug her little nipple, feeling it pebble at his touch.

Bella gasped, her head thrashing back in ecstasy, stretched taut, her back bowed, the ineffable pull tugging her body back into Embry's shoulder, baring her throat as she squirmed in his lap, rocking her hips in time with his stroking hands and sliding fingers, grinding her taut little ass on his hard cock.

The wolf saw the white of her bared throat and snapped his teeth, gnashing and snarling at Embry to, _Take! Mine!_

Embry shuddered in response, maintaining an iron-tight grip on the wolf's leash. He was no better off, writhing beneath Bella. He knew his shorts were going to be a mess, but fuck if he cared anymore. There was no way he could stop it. He didn't care how messy it was going to be, all he wanted to do in that moment was to come while the chestnut-haired beauty writhing against him wailed her release in his ear as she gripped his seeking fingers with her soaked cunt.

The wolf agreed, _Yes! Give._

Bella's heart raced, her pulse thundering in her ears as Embry hands worked her at superhuman speed.

"Bella," he rasped and she turned to capture his lips in a feverish clash of tongues and teeth. He tore his lips away and begged, "Come, come for me. Come _with_ me, Bella. _Mine_."

His voice, that gasping plea to share his pleasure was the final drop in the cup before she spilled over the brim of her restraint. Her breath lost, her mouth opened in a silent scream that ratcheted up into a keening wail before Embry took her mouth. She sobbed her relief into his kiss as he came with her, his hips bucking wildly against her ass for the last few precious strokes of friction as he let himself go, let go with _her_.

The wolf howled, _Her!_

Embry echoed the wolf, roaring through his release as his mouth moved to close over her throat-

_Knock, knock, knock!_

"Embry? Bella? What the hell was that sound? Is everything okay?"

Embry stopped, tearing his mouth away from Bella's throat at the last second-not a moment too soon either. Their panting breaths were loud in the quiet house as they came back to themselves, shifting, touching gently, taking just a few more moments for themselves before they broke the intimacy of their brief, but torrid connection.

Embry continued to pant, never more grateful for a severe case of Quilus Interruptus.

His wolf was _pissed_.

He'd nearly marked her.

_Fuck,_ he thought.

_How did we let it get away from us like that?_ he asked the wolf.

_Mine,_ the wolf growled.

_Asshole,_ Embry snarled at him. _I told you, she's not __ours__!_

_Mine,_ the wolf insisted, repeating himself.

_No,_ Embry's reply was firm and final. The wolf curled up in contentment, pleased with their conquest even if he _was_ annoyed with the human. He stretched and rolled over onto his back playfully as he wiggled and burrowed in Embry's mind, enjoying the scent of Bella on them-all over them, really.

Quil's pounding on the front door became more insistent, "Guys? Seriously, I will throw a shoulder at this door. Don't make me go all 'Quil Hulk SMASH!' I know you're in there! I hear things!"

The two occupants of the small house under siege by Quil sighed together and finally made an effort to slowly pull themselves apart.

"I gotta go clean up and change. You okay to go get that or can we just leave Quil out there in the snow like an annoying, naughty puppy?" Embry asked quietly with a smile against her throat.

She giggled, a little breathless, "No, I'm good. I'll go get the door. You clean up." She kissed him once more for good measure and smiled brightly.

A grin stretched across his face and he whispered, "That was awesome."

"Yeah," she agreed, "but I still haven't seen _yours_ yet. Later." She kissed him again to punctuate her promise and winked, hopping out of his lap and wiggling as she yanked her jeans back up into place and sauntered away, throwing a sassy and satisfied smile over her shoulder at him as she went.

Embry's mouth dropped open in surprise. Did that mean she wasn't done with him yet?

His wolf swaggered around a bit before he settled down again with a predatory growl and a single request, _More?_

_Later, apparently,_ Embry conceded, nevertheless a little taken aback.

The wolf yipped, circling to lay down and settle in, appeased for the time being.

Embry heard her move into the front hallway and decided he'd better hustle. Quil was sure to smell the two of them. No need to let him catch him with the evidence still in his shorts on top of it.

He zipped down the hall to his room, grabbing a spare pair of shorts from his laundry basket before diving into the bathroom and stripping off his mess. He tossed the soiled shorts in the hamper and took a few seconds to clean himself up with a warm washcloth just as he heard the front door open.

Bella was already scolding Quil as she opened the door, "Jeez, Quil, you don't have to be so obnox-"

_Thump, thump, thump._

In rapid succession, three snowballs whizzed through the air, catching their unwitting target unaware.

She grunted an 'oof!' at the first, but the second and third dropped her to the ground with their force.

She almost threw up on the porch.

"Shit! Bells!" Quil cried out. "I'm so sorry! I thought Embry was going to open the door!"

"Were you trying to assassinate him or do you always throw snowballs like it's a bloodsport?" Bella coughed, trying to find a little lightheartedness in the moment to soothe poor Quil's guilty conscience.

Embry appeared in the doorway, kneeling behind Bella in clean shorts, lifting her carefully into his arms. The snowballs-what was left of them-plastered to her chest and stomach began to melt almost instantly from his proximity as he carried her back in the house.

Bella whimpered in discomfort, one trembling little hand sliding over Embry's jumping pecs seeking relief.

He crooned consolingly in her ear before turning a murderous glare on his friend. He held the door open at his back and snarled at Quil, "You idiot! You could have seriously hurt her!"

Quil's eyes dropped to the floor as he followed them inside. "Bells," he whispered. "I'm really sorry."

"It's okay, honey," she muttered quietly. "You can't help it, I know."

"He damn well can!" Embry roared, furious and indignant.

"Emb…" she warned, stopping when the chill from the melting snow seeped through her shirt. "Ugh, I need to change. This shirt is soaked. It's a good thing Jake insisted I pack a few changes of clothes in case the weather turns for the worse while I'm here."

She tried to sit up, gesturing behind the couch, "Hand me my bag, Quil?"

"I'll get it. You can change in my room," Embry offered, slinging the duffel bag strap over his neck and shoulder and picking her up, casting one more threatening glare at Quil.

It wasn't lost on Quil the way she wrapped her arms around his neck and burrowed in, resting her head in the hollow of his throat.

Embry carried her easily down the hall, shouldering his door open and moving across the room to set her on the bed.

Quil heard them murmur quietly to one another while he waited for Embry to return.

He looked up just in time to see Bella sitting on the edge of Embry's bed, pulling the wet shirt over her head as Embry strode to the doorway, met Quil's eyes with an intense and penetrating stare, and closed the door to Quil's view.

Quil blinked as realization dawned. _Embry was staying in the room while Bella undressed._

Quil took an experimental sniff, finally taking in his surroundings and really using his enhanced senses. His eyes widened as his wolf sat up at attention while he took in the rumpled shirt that smelled like Embry on the floor by the couch, the delicious combined aroma of his pack brother and the distinct scent of Bella Swan's lust-a scent Quil would know anywhere after months of Jake turning up with a cloud of her arousal surrounding him like a thick cloak.

Nowhere in the house, however, was there a recent hint of Jake's scent.

Quil looked back down the hall at Embry's closed bedroom door wondering, _Just what the sweet effing hell have __you__ two been up to this afternoon?_

Quil's wolf growled, _Mine..._

❅_.¸¸ ._ _✶*¨*. ¸_ _._❆_*¨*.¸¸.✶*¨'*_❅

**Endnote:** I want to know what all of you think Jake's secret might be. Leave your guesses in the comments. I'm DYING to see what theories you come up with!

~ChrissiHR


	3. Part III: Found Wanting

**A/N:** _Since this short story is a musical chairs game of multi-pairings, I thought it might be a good idea to name the involved parties at the top so you know whether to anticipate an appearance by your favorite wolfman or not, so lemony pairings for this chapter include_ _**Embry/Bella, Jacob/Bella, and Quil/Bella. **__Yeeeaah, buddy. I'm still grinning. It's a fuckload of hot wolfiness that tickles me to no end._

___Fair warning: Enjoy your citrus and hang onto your socks! It's gonna be a rollercoaster of a ride. Enjoy this because at 17 pages and more than 8200 words, I feel like I just gave birth to a really needy, smutty baby._

_Pre-reader/Beta/Gal Friday: meliz875. Why she puts up with my shenanigans, I couldn't tell you, but she has the patience of a saint! This short story wouldn't be half as much fun without her sharp eye for detail, her understanding of the craft of storytelling, and her love for all things Embrella. Thanks, Mel!_

_[The chapter banner goes here. If you want to see it, you'll have to hit up the group for this story over on Tricky Raven.]_

"_You can't always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you might find, you get what you need." _―Mick Jagger

❅_.¸¸ . ✶*¨*. ¸ ._❆_*¨*.¸¸.✶*¨'*_❅

**Part III: Found Wanting**

❅_.¸¸ . ✶*¨*. ¸ ._❆_*¨*.¸¸.✶*¨'*_❅

Bella sucked in a pained breath as she slid the shirt over her head. The snowballs may have melted, but they'd left their mark. The cold and impact had left her with red welts on her chest; several large, pale purple bruises were just beginning to bloom under the surface of her nearly translucent skin. Three distinct marks―beginning at her throat and ending just below her breastbone―were clearly visible.

A low, angry growl emitted from Embry's chest at the sight of Bella's discolored skin.

The wolf thought of the ways he would punish his pack brother, as did the human.

He was starting to shake. Bella tugged gently on his belt loop, pulling against the force of his locked knees to bring him nearer. She needed to touch him, to get his attention, to try to get him to look into her eyes so he would stop focusing on the bruises.

"Emb, don't. It's fine. Quil didn't mean it. If he had hit _you_, you'd already have healed. Of course he didn't expect _me_ to answer the door of _your _home. Why would he?" she ventured, thinking she could temper his anger with reason, but the wolf was livid.

Fists clenched, body vibrating; the tremors that shook his frame were difficult to still.

"Emb?" Bella reached out for his hand. She bit her lip and tried taking a different tack, "You could … um … maybe you could kiss it and make it better?" Her cheeks flushed. She wasn't accustomed to talking to Embry this way despite her earlier, uncharacteristic boldness. That had been happening more and more often lately. She considered that it might be due to her newfound sexual confidence because of her relationship with Jake. He made everything seem so easy, like it was second-nature to both of them―after they got over their initial nervousness.

Heavy eyelids dragged open at the uncertain note in her voice and he finally came back to himself, the wolf subsiding just enough for him to act a little more human in order to comfort her. Kneeling at her feet and placing his hands on her thighs, he captured her lips in a warm kiss. A warm hand cupped the back of her head as he gave himself over to the moment.

Bella felt it and responded, trying to ease the strain and worry that bled from his throat in quiet lupine whines.

Though he was on his knees, her head still barely reached his shoulder from her perch on the edge of the bed. She draped her arms over his shoulders and laid her head against his chest.

"I'm fine. It's okay," her chant became a whispered litany, one hand tickling the hair at the nape of his neck, the other drifting down to rest over his heart. It thumped against his sternum like the repetitive drub of a buckskin beater on a hand drum at one of the bonfires. The percussive beat calmed her worry and eased her body into an almost drowsy relaxed state. It had a cascade effect, calming the wolf and the man as well when they heard her heart rate settle.

They pulled back by degrees, Embry pecking a trail down her throat in light kisses until he reached the edge of the first bruise. Wetting his lips, he pressed them gently along the edge, the dampened skin sticking and pulling at his lips the littlest bit with each touch of heated lips to cool flesh.

Bella shivered, but the warmth of his breath and his mouth _did_ ease the discomfort. A bath sounded like heaven just then and she thought it might work miracles on her sore body as well. The thought of relaxing in the bath made her wonder if she could talk him into it along with her as his attention was drawn lower to the next bruise and he repeated the process once more.

By the time he was finished with the third bruise, she was practically writhing beneath him, her breath coming in short, staccato gasps.

He smiled and eased back, letting reality flow back back over the both of them and the lust ebb gently away.

The wispy haze of lust cleared and she swallowed loudly, wracking her brain, trying to remember what she was going to ask him, "Umm … uh … Oh! A bath? I'd love a warm bath," the explanation came tumbling out as it came to her. "I think it would help. Do you mind?" She ran a hand through his hair up the back of his head and one down his chest over his heart again, feeling it once more, that comforting drub against her palm.

"Of course not. Let me grab some towels and we'll get you set up in a minute," rising fluidly to his feet, he brushed an errant lock of hair from her forehead with a tender caress of fingertips.

Resigned to losing contact with him if only for a few seconds, she pulled herself away reluctantly.

As good as his word, in barely a minute or two, he'd started the tub filling with lightly-scented bubbles and grabbed a stack of towels from the linen closet to set aside in the bathroom before he returned.

Bella could hear Quil muttering down the hallway, but couldn't make out the words.

Embry tugged one of his own overlarge T-shirts on over her head for the trip to the bathroom and lifted her into his arms, explaining, "Since Quil is still here. Didn't think you'd want to give him a show."

Chuckling, she confirmed, "Definitely not." Much as she loved the feeling of being in his arms, she felt compelled to mention, "I _can_ walk, Emb."

"Hush. I may never get to do this again. Let me have my moment," he murmured against the crown of her head, making the corner of her lip twitch in amusement.

His long stride ate up the distance much too quickly for either of them, his foot nudging the door closed with a muffled click. Settling her bottom on the wide apron of the sink, he didn't let go, readjusting instead so she could sit up and part her knees. He settled between them and held her a beat longer as steam billowed in the enclosed space. The rushing sound of water filling the tub was the only noise for the space of a few shared heartbeats.

The steam only served to ripen her luscious scent and the wolf went wild, panting, _Mine! Take!_

Embry shook from the force of will required of him to resist the wolf's demands.

He drew back, brow furrowing, and she wondered what he was thinking as a slight frown tipped the corners of his mouth down.

"Sorry," he muttered, trying to come up with a reasonable explanation. "It's easy to forget." He pressed his lips together in apology.

"Forget what?"

"That you're not mine," he murmured under his breath so low, she barely heard it. "The wolf pushes." He tipped his head and nuzzled her jaw.

She didn't know what to make of that, so she let it go, deciding to let it lie for now.

Turning away abruptly to shut off the water with an impatient flick of his wrist, he brought both hands up to run them through his hair in a worrisome sign of lingering stress.

"Embry, let it go. Stop overthinking everything," she implored, rubbing his back.

"Yeah…" he breathed, dropping his hands to his sides and turning back to offer a hand to help her down.

She slipped her hand into his and slid to the floor, her muscles tensing in her chest, making her wince as she stood and stretched to her full height to work out the kinks.

Taking a deliberate and calculated step into her space, a little closer than should have been comfortable, his hands skimmed up her back, catching the hem of his oversized shirt and tugging it gently over her head. The dark green lace of her delicate-looking bra caught his eye and her stared in disbelief that he'd somehow missed the opportunity to see it in his hurry earlier.

All those amazing, mind blowing things he'd done to the tiny slip of a woman in front of him and he'd somehow completely overlooked the delicious treats presented in that exquisite lace. It was an oversight he intended to rectify … later.

The wolf growled, _Take._

She needed the soothing heat of the warm bath more than she needed him crawling all over her. He shook himself in reminder, berating the wolf, _And what kind of lover would we be if we took her without thought for her needs? She's sore. Quil really hurt her._

_Fine, _the wolf conceded with a snarl, unhappy at the prolonged wait, but willing to bide his time while they tended her in the bath. Social grooming was pack behavior that the wolf understood, at least.

Embry opened his mouth, surreptitiously bathing his taste buds in her thickening scent as he drew it over his tongue. He caught the faintest hint of something artificial mixed in with her own heady, natural scent.

The wolf's muzzle wrinkled in distaste. Embry thought he knew what it might be. The wolf would have to get over it, but it was something he needed to know for sure before this thing between them went any further, "Bells?"

"Hmm … yes?" hooded eyes met his, curious as to why he was staring so intently at her breasts.

_They really weren't much to look at,_ she thought with a grimace.

Dropping his voice to a whisper in case Quil was listening, he continued, "There's something _off_ about your scent. It's easier to smell in here because of the heat and steam. It smells a little artificial. Are you … on the pill or something?"

"Oh!" she let out a surprised huff of air. "You can _smell_ that?" Her nose wrinkled in annoyance.

A tap to the side his nose with his finger brought the stark reality of werewolf friendships back to the fore as he shrugged, "Werewolf. I can smell all _kinds_ of things I never could before."

His eyes twinkled with mischief.

Her eyes widened in understanding. Oh, oh … _that_. Wow. Well, privacy was something she'd long ago realized was a human misconception that had no place in her relationships with her pack friends. It wasn't like Jake hadn't warned her of that. He was constantly sniffing at her for signs of the least little hint of arousal so he could pounce.

She smiled.

She _enjoyed_ the pouncing.

"It's not the pill. I'm on the shot so I don't forget. Sue's idea," she confided. "Is that … is it a problem for your wolf?"

A shake of his head reassured her, "Don't worry about the wolf. He doesn't get a say in contraception." He chuckled. "He's kind of a dick. All he can think about is covering you in his musk and fuck the consequences."

Bella grabbed his head and gazed deeply into his eyes, speaking directly to the wolf, "Sorry, Wolf. This is a deal-breaker."

The wolf huffed and spat out, _Fine,_ but he didn't have to like it and wouldn't pretend to. He'd enjoy nothing more than seeing the girl's belly round with his pup and made that desire known to the human.

Embry reminded him again, _A pup? Are you crazy? She's not ours._

The wolf huffed, as if to say, _Yet_.

"Bells, there's something else you should know," Embry's voice had dropped so low it was barely discernable from his breathing. Putting his lips to her ear, he admitted apologetically, "I've never … uh … it would be my first time if we … I mean, ugh! I've done _stuff_, but not like, not _that_."

She blinked in surprise, her voice squeaking as she asked, "You're a virgin, Emb?"

He nodded, clearing his throat, "But just―you know―_that_. I've done other stuff."

Rolling his eyes at himself for being such a fucking chick about it, he still worried because he knew she'd already been through her own awkward first time with Jake for _his_ awkward first time. He figured she might not think it was worth the effort to have to deflower yet another werewolf if this went too far too fast for him to warn her later. Warning her seemed like the least he could do.

In a low whisper, he continued, needing her to understand an important distinction between guys and girls, "It's different with guys. It's not like something _precious_ that we hang onto for romantic reasons. It's more like a burden to unload when you're a guy, you know?"

_Except for Jake_, he thought. He'd held out for Bella despite damn near every girl on the rez throwing herself at him since the day his voice changed to the deep baritone that would become Alpha.

Embry's conscience ate at him a bit.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves. Emb. Let's just see where this takes us for now and we'll figure it all out as we go," she tried to reassure him, but her nerves began to kick in as she wondered if she could do this again and what it meant that she was seriously considering fucking one of her best friend's friends.

Compelled by conscience, she confessed to Embry, "I'm not sure that- I don't know if I could live with myself if we did this and you met your imprint later and you wished you'd waited for her. The imprint could change the way you feel and you were right earlier―we _are_ going to be in each others' lives for a long time coming. I need to think about it. I can't really process it right now, though, Emb. It makes me feel … kind of slutty and disloyal and like I'm taking what belongs to your imprint―and I shouldn't! I'm nobody's imprint for a reason. The spirits obviously don't think I'd make a good wolf's mate. Maybe we're just meant to be friends."

"You mean you and Jake."

She nodded, grateful he understood, if a little sad that the spirits thought her lacking in some way.

"And you and me?"

Her lip trembled a little uncertainly before she nodded again, refusing to look him in the eyes.

"No, Bells … Now who's over-thinking?" he teased, tilting her chin with a fingertip.

Sniffing a laugh, she smiled ruefully, "Right, maybe we should just like … go for it." She faked a leap at him and he jumped a little, his eyebrows winging up in surprise.

Uncertain of where they stood, she waited to see what he would do.

Embry slipped the button loose on her jeans and she grinned.

He slid his hands beneath the worn denim of her waistband, gripping her full hips in a light squeeze before drawing the denim down her legs with an aching slowness as he lowered to the floor, memorizing every dip and curve, every freckle―even her scars. Ceasing his descent when he reached the one above her knee, from a motorcycle accident with Jake―one of her worst―he wrapped a hot hand behind her leg and bent the knee, bringing her foot to rest on his thigh.

A press of his lips to the puckered pink cicatrix as his ebony lashes brushed his cheeks made her quiver with need. The urge to kiss those long, silky eyelashes made the familiar heat coil in her belly. The craving for his touch to ease the ache burned brightly.

Every touch he initiated was so deliberate, like a gift it both pained and pleased him to part with.

Reaching behind her back, Bella unclasped her bra, wriggling blissfully a bit at the feeling of freedom when the material fell away. Embry gathered it in his hand and threw it to the side. She slid her foot back to the floor as his hands slid up her smooth flanks. Pausing at her waist, he wrapped his hands around her, nearly able to span her dainty waist with them. The dichotomy of his largeness and her smallness made her giggle. They were such an odd pair. She knew she and Jake were probably just as odd a sight, though.

Her breath caught in her throat as Embry's fingers snagged the elastic band of her lace panties and the reality of what was about to happen between them finally hit home.

At her nod, he tore through the lace like tissue paper, making her jump, shocked and aroused. Thinking he might take them off, she'd been unprepared for the savage reality of her acquiescence.

She loved it.

Embry didn't want to wait one fucking second longer than he had to. Fingers drifting to her trimmed, auburn curls, he whispered, "So soft."

She shuddered as a wave of desire swept over her and winced as the tremor strained her sore muscles.

Seeing her tremble, he steadied her with his hands on her hips, rising to his feet to stalk around her, taking further silent inventory of her soft, perfumed skin as one hand kept in contact at all times, a reminder of his support as he shored up her reserves of strength with his gentle touch.

She blushed and fidgeted self-consciously, running a hand down her nude curves in a little sign of burgeoning bravery. the other still clutched against her stomach uncertainly.

The wolf rumbled in pleasure, _Take! Fuck! Bite!_

_Whoa,_ his eyes flashed gold as the force of the wolf's desire rocked him back on his heels before he reined him in.

Bella watched the battle play out on his eyes with a quick hitch of breath, sighing in relief as they cooled back to Embry's own gorgeous amber brown.

"You're okay," she assured him.

He nodded, resting his chin on the top of her head as he draped his arms lightly over her shoulders.

Embry was really touchy. Bella liked that, all the touching. He was always so gentle with her.

Except when he wasn't.

A naughty smile teased at her lips.

She held a hand out, motioning to the bath with the other, "Come in with me?"

His eyes sparkled with delight and pleasure at the thought of taking her in the bath―until he remembered that his pack brother was still waiting for him in the living room.

A low growl of warning, but more than loud enough for his brother's ears, followed "Get lost, Quil."

He started to take off his shorts, but stopped when Quil answered in a quiet voice that Bella couldn't make out, "Sorry, man, no can do. I'm sorry about this, dude. I really am, but Jake got home early and sent me over to talk to you alone. He wants to see you, but he doesn't want Bells to know about it yet―said to say Sam asked you to run over to the house for a quick update on the red-headed leech. Jake wants you to head over to his garage so he can talk to you alone. I'm supposed to watch Bella."

Embry snarled.

Bella touched his hand to get his attention, asking, "What? What's wrong?"

"Our esteemed Alpha is summoning me. That's why Quil came over." It may have only been a slightly less damning side-step, but he refused to lie to her, calling Jake 'Alpha'. He _was_ the rightful Alpha in spirit, if not in name.

Embry looked longingly at the bath and sighed, "You better get in and try to do something about those welts and bruises for now. I … _fuck_ … I've gotta go, but I'll be back as soon as I can." It felt like it might seriously kill him to leave the room right now. His dick was rock hard and Bella was _naked_.

He whimpered on the inside.

If wolves could cry, his would have been sobbing. As it was, he was throwing the king of all werewolf tantrums―snapping at Embry not to be an idiot and to get in the goddamn tub and fuck the girl. The wolf didn't have the vocabulary for that, though.

Embry got the gist of his ferocious snarls and growls and he agreed, but the hereditary Alpha didn't claim that title for no reason. He knew he had to go if he'd been summoned.

Looking at her longingly, his with eyes filled with regret.

"It's okay. We have all afternoon. Hurry back," she gave his hand a tug and he dropped down for a quick kiss, noting how easy and right the affectionate expression was feeling the more she encouraged him to to do it.

"I will. I won't be long―I promise―and you'd better be naked when I get back," he ordered with a wink and a quick slap to her ass.

She threw her head back and laughed.

Beckoning to her with a warm hand, he helped her into the tub so she wouldn't slip, indulging himself, tugging playfully at one soft, pink tip as she settled―she hissed and closed her eyes―letting his hand drift between her thighs. He stroked her, fingers slipping between honeyed folds slick with desire. She gasped and trembled with a little aftershock, still a bit sensitive so close to her last release. Relaxing, she lay her head back and sighed, humming in pleasure when he pressed his lips to hers in farewell.

"Don't fall asleep in there," he warned as he stood up, turning and slipping out the door before he risked changing his mind and climbed in after her.

He strode purposefully down the hall, pointing at Quil and giving him the hairy eyeball as he passed, "You keep an ear out for her so she doesn't fall asleep in the tub. She has so much as a scratch or one unaccounted for bruise when I get back, I will break your leg and hold you down while it sets wrong. And don't fucking think I won't know. I know every inch, every scar, every dimple on her. If there's so much as a hair out of place …"

Quil's mouth dropped open in shock. It was out of character for Embry to be so domineering; Quil and his wolf recoiled in surprise, the wolf submitting readily in Quil's mind, rolling to his back in a show of submission. Quil Ateara's wolf did not fucking submit to just anybody. He quivered with uncertainty, eyes glued to the floor instinctively.

Embry relented when he saw Quil's reaction, "Sorry, man, it's just … it's all kind of new and my wolf…"

"Yeah, I get that," Quil agreed, mumbling at the floor and shuffling his feet. "Mine was getting weird about her when I got here. You gotta talk some sense into Jake. This shit is getting out of hand," he muttered, shaking his head in reproof.

"Yeah. No, shit. I gotta go deal with this. You gonna be okay with her?"

Quil looked nervously down the hall, taking a deep breath and squaring his shoulders, "Yeah, as long as I keep my distance. Just … dude, talk some fucking sense into Jake."

"On it," Embry promised as he threw open the door and looked around to be sure no one was watching before dropping his shorts on the porch and tossing them in the air. He leapt the full length of the stairs and phased, snatching the shorts out of the air with his powerful jaws as he took off on four paws in the direction of the Blacks' house.

-{}❆{}-

Bella tried to raise her head from the lip of the tub, but Embry had done his best to wear her out. She decided to make the most of it and just lay there, relaxing in the oversize tub, anchoring herself with an elbow hooked over the edge so she didn't run the risk of dozing off and slipping beneath the bubbles. She managed to scoot a little more upright, but didn't get far with aching muscles and tender bruises.

Experimentally, she ran her hands over her torso, letting her thoughts wander back to Embry's revelation about his virgin status. She rolled her nipple gently back and forth between her thumb and forefinger, her mind drifting to the early days of her physical relationship with Jake. What he lacked in experience he more than made up for in enthusiasm, she remembered with a smile.

_Unconsciously holding her breath, she sprawled on Jake's tiny twin bed, propped up on a few pillows so she could watch as he kissed and licked and nipped his way up her leg. He loved her legs, especially when she wore shorts, or a skirt. She'd worn one that day, she remembered. They'd been out back where he had her truck up on those little red ramps so he could change her oil. Walking by in that little cargo skirt and her purple Chucks at just the right time was all it took for her legs to have his complete and undivided attention. The truck was suddenly little more than an obstacle he couldn't extract himself from fast enough. _

_Coming up behind her, wrapping his arms around her torso, he let one hand fall to the front of her skirt._

_She bit her lip and looked around, hoping none of the neighbors could see them back there._

_Jacob was too far gone to care. He slid the hem of her skirt up in the front, exposing those long, slim legs he loved so much, wrapping one huge, hot hand around her thigh and spreading her open to his seeking digits. His hand ghosted up the tender skin of her inner thigh to touch her through the damp panties he expected to find, but, for the first time ever, she wasn't wearing any. _

_Jacob's wolf loosed a single barking growl from the human's throat and she knew she was in for it. Her pussy dripped with desire and she trembled._

_Pushed up against the fender of the truck, hands braced on the cool metal, legs spread, he lowered his mouth to her throat. He loved to nip and chew on her there. His hands were busy; one between her thighs stroking through the damp curls, homing in on her swollen nub, the other hand sliding up beneath the hem of her shirt, roughly tugging her bra down to grasp a nipple just a little too hard_―_the way she liked it._

_Breath heaving, she groaned, letting her head fall forward, and felt her channel spasm in response as her belly tightened ahead of her rapidly-approaching peak._

_Jake was young and eager and didn't have much finesse, but who gave a fuck about that, she thought, when she was riding her way to her first orgasm practically in public on the tips of his fingers against her truck in the middle of the afternoon, gasping his name and begging for more. Practically on the verge of tears in her desperation, she sobbed when he slipped two blunt-tipped fingers inside her and brought her to the edge again before flicking at her clit with the very tip of his thumb. He took her lips in his, swallowing her scream as she came once more, rocking her tiny, tight ass against his rigid length as her tight pussy pulsed around his hot fingers._

_He wasn't done with her, though, not by a long shot. Like the most precious of cargo, he picked her up after and carried her inside, laying her out like a virgin offering to the gods on his too-small bed. _

_Her hand shot out, tugging at the waistband of his shorts, but he shook his head, his voice raspy as he answered her unasked question, "Not right now, honey. This time is all about you."_

_She melted, caught in his warm brown eyes._

_Arranging a few pillows behind her head, he made her comfortable so she could watch, but also because he enjoyed the intensity of looking her in the eye while he worshipped her body with teeth, lips, tongue, and hands._

_She wiggled, moving to take her skirt off, but he stopped her, "Leave it on. There's something about crawling up under your skirt that does it for me." Blushing a little at his admission, the faintest hint of red stained his cheeks._

_Bella had giggled and blushed beet-red herself, but he got his way. He loved that disheveled look on her, the freshly-mussed, just-got-ravaged-standing-up-look. Wanting to see more and lay her out like his own personal centerfold, he pushed her shirt up under her arms and tugged both cups of her bra down so her breasts spilled over, making them look a little more impressive from her vantage point. From his, too, she thought with another blush._

_Starting at her ankle, he kissed and licked her, god, just __**everywhere**__. By the time he got to her knee, he was getting nippy. The kisses had turned to those little nibbling bites that delivered just a hint of pain, intensifying the pleasure of each lap of his tongue to soothe his stinging nibbles._

Bella shivered, though the bath water was warm and the steam hung in the room like fog. She whispered Jake's name as her fingers worked her nipples like they had that afternoon weeks back in Jacob's room while he teased and and tantalized, slowly working his way back to her soaked folds.

Moaning louder, she was really getting into it, the water beginning to lap over the edges of the tub.

Quil dropped the magazine he was holding, his gaze whipping up to stare down the long hallway to the bathroom.

The bathroom where Bella Swan lay naked, moaning in a tub full of hot water and fragrant bubbles―water that sloshed gently as she moved restlessly in response to something he could only imagine.

Oh, good god, could he imagine it.

Quil adjusted his shorts, noticing for the first time that he had a little problem.

_Well, not a __little_ _problem,_ he thought with a grin. Becoming a werewolf did have certain advantages. Ginormous human cock, chief among them, for which he would always be grateful to his ancestors. He didn't give two fucks if that shit was blasphemous.

_What harm could it do?_ he thought, looking down the hall longingly as Bella hummed in pleasure in the bath. Padding on silent feet down to Embry's room, he clicked the door shut behind him as quietly as possible. He could hear her even better from there. Her scent was stronger, too.

Rubbing his dick through his shorts, he wondered how bad a broken leg could really be with his fast healing.

_Totally worth it,_ he thought, as Bella sighed and the sloshing got more energetic.

_The hell with it,_ he decided, tugging down his basketball shorts. His cock sprang free, already weeping at the tip. Palming the end, he pulled the moisture down the turgid shaft and stroked back up.

Down again, and Bella moaned. Quil fucking _quaked_. It was almost like she was in the room, with him, watching him.

He joined in the tug-and-rub chorus, groaning and gripping the base of his chubby to hold off his release. No fucking way was he going to bust his giggleberries after just two measly strokes while Bella Swan was pinching the pearl in her bearded clam and thrashing like that hot fucking mermaid from Splash less than fifteen feet away.

Lowering himself to the floor by Embry's bed, he listened, loosening his grip a little. He imagined what he would do if she were in here with him while he eavesdropped on her petting her naughty pink kitty.

_He'd grasp her hips from behind, parting her thighs with a nudge of his knee as he tugged her down to straddle his lap, rubbing his leaking knob at her entrance. She'd slide down over his groin ferret like a tight, wet glove. Grabbing one of her funbags, he'd rub her dripping honey all over her love button in fast circles until she was crying for him to make her come. _

_Oh, yeah, she'd beg. _

_He'd grip her hard, pounding her mercilessly on his hard thumper, anchoring her with an arm across her tits to piston her pink sausage wallet like a fucking 400 four barrel engine._

Bella slid her hand beneath the water, teasing herself, tickling at her lips and brushing over the curls swirling in the warm water. Hand dipping lower, she spread herself open and curved her little fingers up inside―three of them at once. She wanted the burn, the stretch that she felt when Jake took her, the pleasurable sting when Embry had stroked her inner walls with his long, hot fingers. Letting her mind drift, she imagined what it would feel like with Embry.

_He'd take her from behind, she knew, at least once, the smooth, purple cap of his cock parting her glossy, pink folds as he watches himself disappearing inside her. Her juices would glisten on his shaft, shiny and slick and he'd pump lazily―a slow grind―watching her flesh cling achingly to his retreating member before he slides home once more. The anticipation would mount as their pleasure builds. He would pick up speed slowly, the promise of their shared release spurring him on. Knowing instinctively when she needs more and when to hold back, and wait for her to catch up. He would lower himself to her back as his hips buck wildly against the cushion of her ass, pressing fervid kisses and those stinging little bites she loves between her shoulder blades, his lips eventually finding her throat as his teeth sink into the tender flesh and he roars. She'd come with a piercing wail as he howls and erupts inside her, thick jets of cum pulsing against her battered cervix._

Somewhere in Quil's mind, he was dimly aware as he heard Bella's racing heart, her breath hitching, and imagined holding her ass in his hands as it bounced on his lap rocket. He wanted that ass like a fat kid wants cake after a summer at diet camp. He wanted to fuck it and bite and watch it bump his thighs as she rode his giggle stick.

The wolf growled, _Bite!_

_Fuck, yes, _Quil agreed in his fantasy, his head rolling on his shoulders, _yanking her back against his chest and brushing her hair to the side. He'd latch his teeth onto the tendon at the juncture of her throat and shoulder, hanging on, waiting for just that perfect moment when his meat whistle would blow and he'd sink his teeth in, clamping her down with jaws and arms like iron cables as his nut butter overflows her pickle jar._

In the tub, Bella's hips twitched and jerked as her belly tightened, her body finally catching up to the images in her head, her fingers buried in her aching sheath as she convulsed, gasping and shouting triumphantly, "_FUCK!_" as the world spun out and her taut body finally went lax.

The wave of water she displaced, surged and crashed over the rim of the tub, water slopping to the floor. A lazy chuckle burbled up in her throat and she stretched like a cat.

Coming slowly back to the here and now, she fought to stay awake. Her free hand swirled languidly in the cooling bath water as she tugged her aching fingers free of her tender flesh.

Bella did feel better, though. Muscles loose and supple, she felt amazing.

Rising gracefully from the tub, the water and spent bubbles sluiced down her sensitive skin, her body still thrumming with satisfaction.

She grabbed a towel and patted herself down, pausing for just a second before searching through the cabinets to see if Embry's mom had left any unscented lotion for her to use.

It would be unscented or nothing, because she had no interest in smelling like his mom when he came back, if they picked up where they left off.

A small tube of an older sample caught her eye in the back of the medicine cabinet and figured Emb's mom wouldn't mind―_if_ she ever found out. She smoothed it on, massaging it into her legs and tummy with a hum of contentment.

When she finished moisturizing her arms, chest, and shoulders Bella looked around for her bag, but all she saw were her wet clothes from before, her torn panties, and Embry's shirt. She must have left her bag in Embry's room.

Shrugging it off, she wrapped a pretty aqua blue towel around her body, tucking the end in at her breasts. Embry had been pretty crystal clear before he left about wanting her naked when he returned. She was feeling just naughty and relaxed enough after her bath to make his fantasy a reality without making him work too hard for it.

Cracking the door open, Bella peeked down the hall to make sure Quil wasn't looking. She didn't see him, so she figured he was stretched out on the couch. Quil could nap anywhere, she knew.

She darted across the hall to Embry's door―turning to make sure Quil still was nowhere to be found―and backed into the room as she closed it with a quiet click.

A loud moan behind her made her gasp in shock and spin around.

Bella's eyes met Quil's just as his were flickering closed in a combination of pleasure and pain she knew well. He erupted over his fist, panting _her_ name.

She looked on in awed fascination at the thick length fisted so tightly in his hand that it was turning purple. Joking about digging around and doing some harmless flirting and touching to see who was the biggest in the pack was one thing, but this …

Bella had never imagined walking in on any of them in the middle of the act.

Wracked by nerves, her hand fluttered up to clutch at her throat as she came to her senses and brought her eyes back up to his face.

His eyes were open and his burning gaze wasn't embarrassed. It was almost predatory as his breath heaved and he watched her.

"QUIL!" she yelped. "Oh my god! I'm so sorry!" She spun around, closing her eyes in mortification that she'd walked in on him jerking off and then stared like an idiot while he finished.

_Oh, god,_ she whimpered silently, her frayed nerves pricking, _not just jerking off,but coming like a freight train with her name on his lips. He must have …_

Shame buried her as she realized that he must have been turned on by listening to her doing the deed herself in the bath tub.

Choked into stunned silence, she dropped her head into her hand, not sure what to do or where to go from here, her grip tightening on her towel as she tugged it up a little tighter.

It was abso-fucking-lutely the _wrong_ thing to do.

Quil could clearly see the pert under-curve of her ass cheeks peeking from beneath the little blue towel with her back turned to him. The ass he wanted so bad.

The wolf rumbled his agreement, though his thoughts became more basic, more feral, as his eyes traveled up her long torso to the smooth flesh above the towel. The sight of her bare, unmarked throat made him stiffen with arousal. Her rich scent―usually mingled with pack scent―was pure, unadulterated, unmated female for the first time in months because of her recent bath.

Throat.

Scent.

Nothing else existed, nothing else mattered. The wolf imagined the human pinning her beneath him, prone, throat bared, her intoxicating, unmated scent enveloping them like a thick fog. Her pheromones would ripen with her desire as he clamped his teeth on the tender white flesh of her throat. He'd fuck her until she was covered with his musk, obliterating the other male scents still faintly clinging to her, showing the bitch and the pack how a real wolf took his mate.

_Bite!_ the wolf ordered Quil, ready to take charge and end this the way a dominant male wolf should.

Quil fought the wolf, _No! Not like this!_

_Human … Bite. Bitches love that,_ the wolf insisted, as sure of himself as ever.

Quil would have laughed if he hadn't been so scared for Bella, growling furiously instead, _Never! She's Jake's! Or maybe Embry's. Fuck! I don't know! _

His thoughts bordered on hysteria as he tried to think of a way out of this, but the wolf was obsessed. Bella's scent and throat were everything, the only thing. He shook, trying to remember that Bella baked pies and loved bad action flicks. She read Shakespeare and had no idea who Wolverine was, but knew everything about Adamantium because she accidentally clicked the X-men Wiki link on Google once when she was looking up a restaurant in Port A. She was his brother's girl, not a wolf bitch for him to mount like a rutting wild animal!

_Idiot,_ the wolf snarled furiously. He couldn't understand the human's reluctance. The human felt desire when she was near. Maybe he preferred males. The wolf growled in disapproval.

_You're awful goddamn judgmental for someone who can't get laid without a borrowed dick, you know!_ Quil growled back.

Poor Quil's eyes met Bella's as he fought battles both within and without, hastily stuffing his junk back in his shorts, he scrambled, crab-walking backwards as fast as his hands and feet could carry him to pin his back against the farthest wall. Panting, he begged, "Bella, you can't stay in here. Go! Put Embry's shirt back on! Cover yourself with his scent! _**Do it! **_"

Hesitating a beat, she started to turn to offer him help.

A growl tore from his throat, his eyes blazing as he snarled, "_**GO!**_" and she startled abruptly, tumbling forward and turning fully as she backed towards the door.

"That's right, Bells." he said evenly. "You should go. **Damn it! I said **_**GO!**_" The unrecognizable voice of her friend demanded instant obedience as he stomped one bare foot on the floor, rattling the knick knacks in Embry's bedroom, toppling them from shelf to floor. A growling roar that she knew from experience occasionally precipitated the phase bled through Quil's clenched teeth. The wolf's emergence was imminent.

Back arched off the wall, he kicked his feet out, digging his heels into the hardwood, seeking purchase to hold his human form, to hold himself still to give her a running start to call for help.

Then the creepiest thing she'd ever seen began to unfold before her eyes.

The Quil she knew lost himself to the wolf.

His eyes weren't Quil's anymore.

The iris, the expression―everything that made him Quil was razed to the foundation and all that remained was predator.

Quil's voice had deepened an octave as his gaze turned shrewd. He muttered things under his breath and stared at her, aroused or engaged in some kind of predation behavior she didn't recognize. The watchful eyes of a hunter looked for any sign of weakness on her part. It was eerie, the external struggle was almost violent while the wolf easily claimed Quil's eyes, the expression on his face still and chilling in light of his body's battle for dominance over the spirit wolf's control.

Backing away slowly, she never took her eyes off of him. The door swung open at her back. She moved cautiously through it so she wouldn't trip. Closing it quickly, she didn't even dare to blink until it shut before she bolted across the hall to the bathroom.

Bella pawed frantically through the pile of clothes on the floor, grabbing Embry's shirt and tugging it on. As her jeans slumped back to the floor, she heard a muffled thump and almost cried when she realized what it was.

Her phone.

Hands shaking so badly she could hardly keep her grip on the phone, she finally managed to hold down the home button, sobbing as the voice-recognition feature came on with a quiet beep. She murmured quietly, "Siri, _call Embry._"

"Bella?" he answered on the first ring just as Jake's face darkened and his head came up, looking out the garage door towards the woods as he rubbed a hand over the side of his neck and the other began clawing at his chest.

"Embry," she cried, "you need to come back, RIGHT NOW. Something's wrong with Quil!"

Jake's eyes flashed the lambent gold of his wolf's. He was on the verge of phasing when-

Quil clawed at the phone in his pocket, hands shaking as he pulled up the speed dial menu and clicked Jake's icon on the screen.

Jake was choking, gagging to hold the wolf at bay. He couldn't even remember where he put his phone, but Embry was quick to understand what was happening, thankfully. He snatched it up from the workbench just as it rang the second time.

Quil growled when Embry answered the fucking phone.

Gasping, trembling with the force of fighting his wolf, he shouted, "**Emb?! GET JAKE!**"

There was a jumble of noise on the other end of the line as the phone was handed off.

"_**Quil, what's going on?!**_" Jake roared, the phone's protective plastic case straining in his grip as nightmare scenarios spun out in his mind, all of them centering around his mate, his Bells. Bella needed him. It was the catalyst _he_ needed to conquer the Alpha wolf―so he could take care of his girl. Torn between talking Quil down from whatever was scaring the shit out of Bella and snatching the phone from Embry's hand to try to soothe his mate, Jake's mind was at war with itself, master of his wolf or no.

Quil's wolf was clawing at the surface, his skin rippling, bones breaking. As his muscles began to tear and his body started a slow shift, he fought it off, but he couldn't hang onto the phone any longer. Scrabbling for a foothold, he tore up the floor.

The words pushed out of his throat like gravel scraping over sandpaper as he held onto his humanity with little more than teeth and fingertips as his face turned crimson and he writhed and growled into the fallen phone, "I need the order. Do it now! FUCK! **ORDER ME NOT TO MARK BELLA.**"

❅_.¸¸ . ✶*¨*. ¸ ._❆_*¨*.¸¸.✶*¨'*_❅

**Endnotes **(sorry so wordy!): HUGE thanks to everyone who voted for my big multi-chapter fic in the Fandom Choice Awards! The live results show was last week and I won Best Breakthrough Author for "Yours, Mine Ours"! (The reigning 2013 champ was my pre-reader, meliz875. The best company!) Thank you again for your votes and especially for all the wonderfully encouraging comments over the last five months. YMO is on hiatus while I take a little break from it to whip out this short story with a projected end date scheduled for February 14th. I also revealed another sneak peek during the live FCA reveal show for my upcoming poly-erotic fic, Little Red & Her Big Bad Wolves. You can find it on my FFn profile page or on TR under "Every Dog Has Its Day: An Omnibus of Wolfpack Short Stories".

Tricky Raven is hosting an Anonymous Prompt Valentine Contest: Book of Love. Set aside some time and go read all of the wonderful entries this year!

Now, take a minute before you hurry off to the next update in your inbox and leave me a review if you enjoyed what you read today.


	4. Part IV: Nightmares and Dreams

**A/N:**_You'd have had this chapter sooner if it weren't for my cockblocking laptop keyboard and it's rubbing off problem. Sorry for the wait. That is all. Oh, yeah, and sorry to the Quil lovers. You'll see why in a minute._

_If I thought writing the last chapter was like giving birth to a needy, smutty baby, then this one_—_at 14,006 words and 30 pages_—_was like birthing needy, smutty twins._

**_WARNING: LEMONS GALORE._**

**[BANNER GOES HERE ON TRICKY RAVEN]**

Lemon Listenin':

1st: "Just A Lil Bit" by 50 Cent

2nd: "A Warm Place" by NIN

"Baby, you got me feelin' right (ya heard me)

My mama gone, you can spend the night (ya heard me)

I ain't playin', Imma tryna fuck tonight (ya heard me)

Clothes off, face down, ass up, c'mon

All a - really need is a lil bit

Not a lot, baby girl, just a lil bit

We can head to the crib in a lil bit

I can show ya how I live in a lil bit

I wanna unbutton your pants just a lil bit

Take 'em off and pull 'em down a lil bit

Get to kissin' and touchin' a lil bit

Get to lickin' and fuckin' a lil bit"

~"Just A Lil Bit" by 50 Cent~

_Huge thanks to __**meliz875**__, my pre-reader, for all her patience and hard work and late nights spent on this chapter with me. She's a trooper!_

_No beta and my eyes are exhausted, so if you find a typo, let me know or ignore it, I guess. No matter what you do, I hope you enjoy it._

❅_.¸¸ . ✶*¨*. ¸ ._❆_*¨*.¸¸.✶*¨'*_❅

**Part IV: Nightmares and Dreams**

❅_.¸¸ . ✶*¨*. ¸ ._❆_*¨*.¸¸.✶*¨'*_❅

The snow continued to fall, blanketing the frozen crust of ever-present mud churned up by the trucks and four-bys the folks used on the rez to get around during the incessant freeze-thaw cycle of a winter in La Push. The thin layer of old snow that remained from the last storm in the deepest part of the woods crunched like dry corn flakes beneath Embry's enormous paws.

His canter slowed to a trot as he approached the back of the Blacks' place nearest the forest's edge. Jake's head popped out from under the hood of the Rabbit parked in the open doorway of the garage at the sound of his pack brother's arrival.

"Emb?"

The wolf huffed a return greeting, pawing the ground in agitation.

"You need shorts?" Jake's forehead wrinkled in concern as he spotted the shorts tied to Embry's ankle. If he didn't need shorts, he would have phased out already. "Somethin' wrong?" Jake passed the wrench he held from hand to hand in an edgy gesture.

He _felt_ Embry's anxiety. Just one more fucked up congenital Alpha thing he had to learn to ignore.

The wolf paced the tree line. The wolf was jittery.

Jake could see Embry's eyes. He knew Embry—the human—was puzzling something out.

Jake scratched the back of his neck and took a few steps closer to the tree line, squinting as he asked, "You want me to phase with you?"

The wolf stopped, tilting his head in thought, nodded once and retreated to a safe distance.

The distance was Jake's first real clue that he might not like what Embry had to say.

He dropped the wrench he was holding on the stack of milk crates by the door and disappeared behind the garage to phase.

Embry kept a tight lock on his thoughts, thinking only of the run over, the blissful quiet of the silencing blanket of snow as it fell…

"Dude, stop procrastinating and show me already," Jake growled when he phased in, his wolf huffing gruffly in rebuke, a reflection of his unity with the human Alpha. They were both feeling a little cantankerous suddenly.

The Alpha compulsion was too great. Even without an order, there was nothing Embry could have done to stem the flow of thought as it pulsed to life in the pack mind when Jacob's wolf spoke directly to his.

Embry closed his eyes as the day's events played out in his mind. He braced for the attack when Jacob saw what he'd done to his girl.

But it never came.

"She seems happy, satisfied, like she's enjoying herself," Jake mused. "Quil's an idiot, obviously, but … you made her happy." He shook out his fur, kicking loose the tension that had settled over man and wolf both before he lowered to his haunches to study his pack brother.

One of Embry's eyes popped open, watching Jake warily, cautiously maintaining the distance between them.

Jake laughed. Embry's wolf always seemed just a little more human than the rest, communicating his wide range of facial expressions in a way no other wolf could.

"You're laughing?" Embry was incredulous. He'd had his hands all over Jake's girl less than an hour ago—still smelled like her, in fact.

"You look like a cartoon," he chuckled. Then he sighed, "Am I pissed? I want to be, but you know that's not how this works. I only want the best for her. I want to make her happy. I want … whatever she wants, and what she seems to want right now is _you_."

"Jake…"

"Don't. Just don't, Emb." He shook his massive head back and forth in denial, scattering the freshly fallen flakes in his fur.

Embry snarled and phased out, yanking his shorts on angrily and stalking past him to the garage, snarling, "What the fuck, Jake? Why haven't you told her? None of this would have happened! It's so fucked up!"

Jake phased out, too. Following Embry into the garage, he picked up the wrench, still warm from use despite sitting out in the cold winter air since he held it last.

He hung his head, running his free hand over his face in frustration, resigned to doing- _being_ whatever she needed him to be, "This is isn't what she wants."

"What? _What_ isn't what she wants? This?" Embry threw his hands in the air, making a gesture as if to encompass the garage.

Jake shook his head, pacing to his work bench. He set the wrench aside, propping himself up with his palms on the edge of the worktop. He leaned into it, doing a few inclined push ups to burn off some of his nervous energy.

"Being stuck on the rez, mated to a wolf for life. If she did, imprinting wouldn't mean shit. She'd just make up her mind to carry on without it and make the most of it and trust me to take care of it, to be strong enough for her, but she's not. She's letting fate decide for her, so I've gotta give her what she wants, which obviously isn't me, or isn't _just _me. You've never heard that old saying, 'if you love something, let it go…'"

"'…If it comes back to you, it was always meant to be yours'," Embry supplied, nodding. "You're an idiot," he said succinctly.

Jake brought his feet back under him and stood, nodding regretfully, "Maybe."

"No 'maybe' about it. You're a moron." He punctuated the 'moron' with a finger jab towards Jake's face.

Jake chuckled darkly, "You'll get no argument from me. I'm whipped." But his wolf's hackles were raised at the implied insult from the subordinate wolf. The hand gesture was too dominant. His wolf didn't like it. Jake reined him in, _Enough. He's not only 'subordinate', he's the next closest thing to a brother I've got. This is a human thing you wouldn't understand._

The wolf's lip curled in warning. He thought he understood just fine and while he, too, wanted what was best for the girl—Mate, he called her—he wasn't certain that was necessarily letting her have her way and choose an inferior wolf.

"And if she does say 'fuck it all' and decides she wants you with or without any guarantees on her own?" Embry asked quietly.

"_Then_ I'll know."

"Then you'll know," Embry agreed. "You're still an idiot."

"Yup." Jake rocked back on his heels, lips thinned in a resigned line of acceptance to do what he thought would make his Bells happiest.

"You know she's probably at my house with Quil slobbering all over her and offering to show her his dick as we speak, right?"

Jake sighed, shoulders dropping in defeat, "Yeah."

His wolf snapped and gnashed its teeth, _Mate! Mine!_

He shuddered, fighting off the wolf's instincts to phase and go hunt the fucker down who would dare to approach his mate like a common bitch in heat.

Trembling to hold off the phase, he asked the wolf in shocked awe, _Dude? What the fuck was that? You don't care if she dry humps Embry and lets him diddle her bean to while away the morning even though she nearly fucking bit him. Why the fuck is Quil any different?_

The wolf paced, unable to explain the difference without the right words. This mating thing, it was more complex than the usual _bite, fuck, kill_. It had those words. It didn't have the right ones for _this_, though. It had to adapt if it wanted the human to cooperate.

_Ours, _it snarled.

_I get it, she's ours,_ Jake pictured himself and his wolf side-by-side with Bella, him holding her, the wolf rubbing its scent along her back.

This was the thing the wolf needed. It watched as the human taught it how to convey abstract ideas between them without words or instinct to guide them.

The wolf shook its head, reiterating, _OURS. _

Then the wolf did something it had never done; it adapted, using its heretofore untapped imagination to show the human what it meant. It wasn't so different from strategizing for battle.

It pictured Mate—Bella; then the human, Jake; on one side, and on the other, the other human, Embry. It tugged him reluctantly by the hem of his shorts, pushing him into place beside Mate, nudging him until he wrapped his arms around her and she sighed, returning his embrace. The wolf came around to the other side, then, nudging the human Jake closer as well until he was pressed flush against her back, tucking an arm between her and Embry across her beautiful fair shoulders and holding her at the hip as she leaned into Embry and stretched like a cat into Jake's heated touch.

_Mate, OURS, _the wolf gestured to the three of them with its muzzle.

Jake blinked in shock when it finally sank in, what the wolf was trying to convey, what it was _agreeing_ to.

"And he's not going to have any qualms about fucking her if the urge to claim is strong enough, despite the imprint effect," Embry continued, almost unheeded.

Jake _did_ catch that last part, though, and growled menacingly.

So did his wolf, rumbling a warning to the human, _Mate… _

Embry looked at him curiously, "That bothers you?"

Jake gave one sharp nod, trying not to grind his teeth, fists clenching so hard, his knuckles popped and cracked under the strain.

"But me being with her doesn't bother you?" Embry edged cautiously away, putting the Rabbit between them just in case while he watched Jake fight for his humanity.

Jake shook his head 'no'.

"And you don't think that's odd?" Embry pushed, sinking into a defensive crouch and waiting.

That question got Jake's attention, snapping his wolf out of its obsession momentarily, giving Jake the chance to process what Embry said.

He looked up at Embry, "Did you show me everything? _Everything_, Emb?"

Embry thought back over what Jake had seen when they were phased in together, tilting his head and mentally cataloging the conversation in the pack mind, "Yeah, why?"

"Because my wolf is totally okay with you slobbering all over Bella, but the _thought_ of another male going anywhere near her makes him go fucking apeshit. He _likes_ you with her. Me, too, but there's a distinct delineation between you and _others_. It makes me wonder why that is. You didn't mark her? When she came? Her back was to you. No urge to bite?"

"Dude … no. I would never. I mean, yeah, the urge was there. It's always there when I'm alone with a girl during her fertile days-"

"Hold the _fuck_ up. _Fertile days?_ Bella doesn't _have_ fertile days. She's on the shot. Sue said it was best because it prevents her ovaries from releasing eggs and she doesn't have to remember to take a pill every day."

"Then why does she smell so fucking good all of a sudden?" Embry wondered out loud, shaking his head. He stayed behind the Rabbit, but rose from his defensive position to hash this out. It felt significant.

Jake shook his head in confusion, "I don't know. I noticed it yesterday. It's the reason I thought some distance today might be good. I was worried my wolf was getting addicted or something. I almost marked her without permission when we were together last night."

Embry snorted, running a hand through his hair as he paced slowly behind the Rabbit, "You must be rubbing off on her or something."

"What?"

"She was chewing on my neck earlier, damn near bit me before I stopped her."

"Bella had her teeth on your throat?"

Embry nodded, amused, a grin splitting his face as he remembered the feel of her tiny tongue and teeth nibbling his throat. He squirmed, adjusting his stiffening cock in his shorts.

"Did your wolf freak out?" Jake demanded, striding across the room, leaning both hands on the hood of the Rabbit.

Embry drew back a step, shaking his head in denial, "What? No. You saw what happened."

"Yeah, I was just checking. You responded the way a human would. You pulled away, didn't chastise her like a wolf; you didn't nip or try to put her in her place," Jake mused aloud.

"What the fuck? Why would I snap at her? I asked her to stop. She stopped. She bites the shit out of you all the fucking time. Has your wolf ever lashed out? What are you getting at, Jake?" Embry may have been a wolf longer than Jake had, but his temper still ran as hot as the would-be Alpha's when he got frustrated or riled up enough and it was bubbling, barely contained under the surface as he stewed over the true Alpha's accusing words.

Jake shook his head, kicking at an oil stain on the floor and rubbing a hand over the back of his neck, "My wolf doesn't lash out becau-"

Embry cursed when his phone rang … until he saw who was calling. He hastily answered it, his worried eyes darting up to catch Jake's as he answered, "Bella?"

Jake's face darkened and his head came up another inch, looking out the garage door towards the woods as he rubbed a hand over the side of his neck and the other began clawing at his chest.

"Embry," she cried, "you need to come back, RIGHT NOW. Something's wrong with Quil!" her voice echoed strangely like she was calling from the bathroom.

Jake's eyes flashed the lambent gold of his wolf's. He was on the verge of phasing when his phone rang, too.

He was choking, gagging to hold the wolf at bay. Fully alert and in the moment, all he could process was the wolf's thoughts that something was _wrong_. Wrong on its lands, wrong with one of its brothers, its mate…

He couldn't even remember where he put his fucking phone, but Embry was quick to understand what was happening, thankfully. He snatched it up from the workbench just as it rang the second time.

Quil growled into the phone when Embry answered, then shouted, "**Emb?! GET JAKE!**"

Embry looked to Jake to make sure he was keeping it together. His eyes cooled and he knew there was just enough of Jake left to cope with a crisis. He handed the phone over to him and put his own back to his ear, listening as Bella told him everything Quil had said to her listening with half an ear to Jake's conversation with Quil to try to understand what was happening and how to help.

"_**Quil, what's going on?!**_" Jake roared, the phone's protective plastic case straining in his grip as nightmare scenarios spun out in his mind, all of them centering around his mate, his Bells. Bella needed him. It was the catalyst _he_ needed to conquer the Alpha wolf―so he could take care of his girl. Torn between talking Quil down from whatever was scaring the shit out of Bella and snatching the phone from Embry's hand to try to soothe his mate, Jake's mind was at war with itself, master of his wolf or no.

"Bells, shh … Listen, Jake's got Quil on the phone. He told you to put my shirt on, right? You're in the bathroom, right? Do that. Put the shirt on. Then I want you to lock the bathroom door."

The sound of Quil's wolf's fight came through the phone loud and clear for Jake and Embry. He was clawing at the surface, skin rippling and bones breaking. They could hear Quil fighting the phase, but he couldn't hang onto the phone any longer. The destructive sound of boards breaking came through the phone as Quil panted heavily, fighting tooth and claw for control.

His words pushed out like gravel scraping over sandpaper as Quil onto his humanity with everything he had as his face turned crimson and he writhed and growled into the fallen phone, "I need the order. Do it now! FUCK! **ORDER ME NOT TO MARK BELLA.**"

Bella's voice was a near whisper in Embry's ear, "Embry, what do I do?"

The plastic case on Jake's phone strained further and Embry's eyes widened. He snatched it out of Jake's hand, hissing, "If you destroy it, you won't be able to order Quil. Now pull your shit together and do it."

Jake reined the wolf in and growled into the phone, "_**DO NOT PHASE. DO NOT MARK BELLA. Do you understand? Answer me.**_" There was a pained yelp through the line, followed by heavy panting.

Hurriedly, Embry put his own phone back to his ear, "Bells, put the shirt on right now and look on the back of the door. There should be some shorts of mine there. Put them on. While you're up, I still want you to lock that door. It won't stop him, but it'll slow him down if the order doesn't hold."

"What do you mean it won't stop him?" she asked in a tiny, scared voice.

The tension in Embry's chest released as he heard a relieved, "_Yes_," hissed through the phone in Jake's ear, but in Quil's human voice. It was strained, but it was Quil. Both of their shoulders sagged in relief.

Bella was going to be okay.

Jake started jogging, Embry hot on his heels as he answered, "Bells, we think Quil's okay now. He called us just in time and Jake gave him an order over the phone, but I don't want you to leave the bathroom. Stay away from the door. Don't answer it if Quil knocks. Don't even speak to him. Just stay put. We are coming for you," he said as he and Jake strode out of the garage together, tucking their phones into elastic bands at their wrists and dropping their shorts. They stepped out of them and ran.

—-{}❆{}-—

Bella didn't know what to think. She'd never seen any of Jake's friends so out of control. She thought about running, but she knew that was the worst thing she could do if Quil's wolf was out of control. He was still a predator and he wouldn't be able to resist the thrill of the chase. Death was a very real possibility if she ran.

So she did as Embry instructed. She found the old, worn boxers on the back of the door and tugged them on. As she stood by the door, she heard movement from across the hall. Bile rose up in her throat as fear gripped her heart and she backed cautiously away toward the far wall. Mind working at 90 miles an hour, she tried to figure out what else she had at her disposal that would discourage the wolf until Jake and Embry arrived. If she could just slow him down for a minute or two…

The wolf must have been responding to something about the way she smelled, otherwise Quil wouldn't have been screaming at her to cover her scent with Embry's. If it was a scent thing…

The hamper in the corner caught her eye and a grim smile tipped up the corner of her lips. If she was lucky, Embry had gotten changed in the bathroom earlier. She flipped up the lid quietly and there, right on top, were the sticky shorts Embry had removed in a hurry when Quil arrived. She imagined the scent would still be quite potent to another wolf. Gingerly removing them from the hamper, she folded them lengthwise so the zipper faced out and laid them on the floor. She pushed the shorts right up to the crack beneath the door, hoping it would act like a filter that Quil would have to breathe her scent through.

Shuddering delicately and trying to ignore the fact that she'd just used wolf jizz as crazed wolf deterrent, she retreated to the small space between the sink and the wall, hoping that if Quil did phase, the space would be too small for him to reach her easily. Drawing her knees up to her chest, she pressed her eyes to them, blocking out the light, and waited for help to arrive, trying not to hyperventilate.

—-{}❆{}-—

Quil's breaths slowed and his eyes cooled as he came back to himself. He clicked the phone off and slipped it into his pocket, or tried to. His shorts had nearly burst at the seams as he'd struggled not to phase. He dug through Embry's laundry basket and helped himself to another pair of basketball shorts. They were snug because Embry was so slim and Quil so bulky, but at least he was covered.

Turning to survey the damage, he winced. Embry was going to lose his shit when he saw the floor and wall. The sound of breath hitching caught his ear and he tilted his head in lupine interest. The order had quelled the wolf, but the human knew that sound and it broke his heart. He heard her pulse racing and a shuffling sound. He moved toward the door and her breath caught in a nearly soundless gasp liked she'd heard him move. Scrabbling noises against the floor followed by a creak and the soft rustle of fabric met his ears. He crept on silent feet to the door, not wanting to scare her again. As he reached the door and opened it quietly, he saw the closed one across the hall bend out slightly and the little sliver of light below the door disappear as the scent of pure, undiluted Embry-lust poured into the hallway from beneath, practically obliterating Bella's scent.

"Clever girl," he whispered to himself as he stepped into the hall and lowered himself to the floor against the wall. He tried to formulate an apology, but nothing seemed adequate.

Keeping it simple, he figured, was his best bet, and hoped she didn't have a heart attack at the sound of his voice as he spoke in an even tone just loud enough for her to hear, "Bells, I'm really sorry, honey. I don't know what happened to my wolf, but it's okay now." He hastened to add, "You don't have to come out, though. Jake and Embry will be here any second and it'll be okay. I just don't want you to be scared anymore."

It was quiet for a few seconds and then he heard a watery sob that she caught and reeled in before sniffling out a broken, "Thank you, Quil."

And then she cried.

Quil had never heard Bella cry. Ever.

Pressing the heels of his palms into his eye sockets, he choked down tears of his own as he listened to her sob quietly locked behind a bathroom door that would barely have registered much less slowed him down without the order. He had no idea what the hell had just happened, but he suspected what might have if he hadn't reached Jake on the phone in time. The thought of what his wolf had nearly done made him sick.

He didn't trust his wolf anymore, that was for good goddamn sure.

His trust in himself was shaken, too.

Sniffling, trying to make some fucking sense out of what had just happened, he missed the sounds of his brothers approaching at breakneck speed—didn't even realized they had arrived until a buck ass naked and furious Jake had him by the throat and threw him down the hall. The back door splintered like matchsticks as he tumbled down the back stairs to the snow-covered ground below.

It was getting deep. He struggled to stand, but the unexpected flight and landing had snapped something in his ankle that would take a few minutes to heal.

Quil saw Embry pause briefly at the bathroom door and speak quietly through it to Bella. He disappeared inside just before Jake's fist slammed into his face. Taking the hit, he braced himself and waited for the next, thinking he deserved whatever Jake could throw at him.

More than.

He stumbled, going to one knee, his ankle screaming, but he rose to his feet again, looked Jake in the eye and nodded, a silent sign that he was ready for the next. Jake drew his arm back and roared, the air whistling past the taut skin of his clenched fist as it connected again and again, methodically beating his friend almost to the brink of death; the sounds coming from Quil reduced to burbles through the fountain of blood he was choking on and spitting up.

Both of them exorcising their demons the only way they knew how.

A horrified cry broke through their self-loathing-addled brains and they both looked up into cinnamon brown eyes peering out of an ashen face, peeking from behind Embry who was using his body as a shield to keep her safe, assuming the human fight would end when someone phased and the battle would get exponentially worse when Quil's wolf came out to fight back.

—-{}❆{}-—

"Bells? Honey? It's me, Embry. Everything is okay now. You can unlock the door. Jake's got Quil out back," he said gently, not wanting to startle her anymore than necessary. He was sure she'd heard the crash of Jake and Quil destroying his back door and he needed to know that she was okay. He heard her whimper and knew she was nowhere near the door. He couldn't blame her. He grabbed the doorknob and turned until the lock caught, twisting just a bit further until he bent and gave so he could force his way in.

Murmuring in dulcet tones to reassure her it was just him and she was safe, he opened the door just enough to slide through. He didn't see her at first, curled up as she was between the vanity and the wall behind the hamper. His scent billowed off the clothes, but it was strongest right behind the door. He clicked it closed and looked down, only to find his ruined shorts from earlier stuck underneath like a draft blocker.

He smiled a bit sadly at her quick thinking, wishing he could have done something differently so it would never have been necessary.

His scent would do more to keep Quil's wolf at bay than any lock could, being the more dominant wolf of the two of them. He looked back at the hamper—another scent barrier she'd used to layer herself with his scent.

Everything's a weapon when you're the tiny, smart girl surrounded by monsters.

The wolf chuffed with pride. The girl was smart _and_ understood the wolves. She would make a good mate.

Embry silently agreed with his wolf, she really was worthy of being the Alpha's mate if Jake ever pulled his head out of his ass.

The wolf huffed, pissed, growling, _Our_ _mate._

With a roll of his eyes, Embry brushed off his wolf's ongoing obsession and moved some scattered clothes out of his way.

Concerned about spooking Bella after her scare, he lowered silently to one knee and slid the hamper aside, freezing in place when he heard a whimper come from behind it.

"Bells? It's okay. You're safe now," he crooned, running the pad of his fingertip over the back of one of her hands. They were clutched tightly around her legs, face buried in her knees. She raised her head and Embry broke, inhaling a shaky breath when her eyes met his, her face red, tear tracks marring her usually pretty pink cheeks. Her hands slid up her legs to grip her knees, her fingers shaking. He pulled his hand back, unsure if she'd welcome a heated wolf's touch after being traumatized by his brother's wolf.

He was just about to get up and back away to give her some time alone when she launched herself at him, sobbing into his neck, "Emb-b-bry…!" It all came pouring out, all her terror and helplessness and distress. It poured over him and his wolf. The wolf came to the rescue once more, unleashing a comforting rumble in Embry's chest. The soothing sound and comforting purr-like growl almost instantly easing Bella's hysteria.

His arms folded over her tightly, he rocked her gently, rubbing her back in soothing strokes until she quieted, sniffling occasionally into his shoulder.

When she came to her sense, she froze, asking timorously, "Umm … Embry?"

"Mmm hmm?" he mumbled, rubbing his cheek over her soft hair.

"Are you naked?" she squeaked, her fingers tightening reflexively on his ribs as she sat in his lap with his impressive length pressed between them, her legs anchored around his waist.

He chuckled, reddening a little when he realized he'd forgotten to grab a pair of shorts before he busted in the bathroom door.

He started to let go of her to go grab some shorts, but she clung to him like a burr, refusing to let go.

"Okay, then. You can come with me," he decided, rising and moving across the hall to grab some more shorts from his laundry basket. Bella held on like a starfish while he bent over to put on his shorts.

When he stood, he took a moment to survey the damage, whistling and muttering, "I hope Jake gets a few in for me."

"What?" she said, brushing the damp hair out of her eyes.

"I said I hope Jake gets a few in for me while he's out there."

Eyes narrowing, she bit out through clenched teeth, "Out where?"

"Umm …" Embry shifted uneasily, hands cupping her butt to try to avoid fidgeting. "I'm pretty sure Jake's out back beating Quil within an inch of his life for scaring the crap out of you."

"What…?" she breathed, horror dawning on her face. She wiggled, "Put me down, Emb! We have to go stop him! He'll kill him!"

"Bells, it's not safe out there. Someone could phase too close to you…" he warned, setting her on her feet and blocking the door.

"He's going to kill him, Embry. Your best friend is going to _kill_ your other best friend. Jake will stop if I'm there. He won't want me to see him acting like a monster. We have to save Quil! It's not his fault!" She shoved and tugged to get his cooperation, but he wouldn't budge. She gave up, finally, throwing her hands in the air. "Ugh! What am I doing?! I don't need your permission or your help!" She slipped below his arm and stalked out the door, hurrying down the hallway, Embry hot on her heels, shocked that she'd gotten by him so easily. It was like … like he couldn't say 'no' to her, not when it mattered.

He passed her as she stepped out on the porch, standing just slightly ahead of her and surveying the scene before turning to block her from moving down to the yard. Arms held out in warning, he kept her from running into the fray, but only just barely, before she got a good look at the carnage.

Quil was coughing up and choking on his own blood, not even bothering to fight back while Jake made hamburger meat of his fists on Quil's face.

Bella cried out in dismay and Embry's arms tightened around her, "Bells, don't. Neither of their wolves are stable right now."

Jake growled at Embry, furious at the sight of the hands restraining his mate.

Embry threw his arms up, "Just trying to keep her safe, dude."

Quil swayed as he rose to his feet again—like he had all the other times, catching Jake's attention. He turned back to his task, preparing to land another blow.

"Jacob! What are you doing!" Bella struggled against Embry, trying to get to Quil and Jake.

"Bells, please don't do this…" Embry implored. "I can't keep you safe if you won't cooperate."

"Stop them, Embry. You have to stop them," She yelped at the sound of fist connecting with bone again. "Please make Jacob stop!"

"Okay, okay. C'mere," he held his arms out and she went into them willingly.

The muffled thunder of enormous paws in the freshly fallen snow announced the imminent arrival of another wolf. Small and light grey, it came to a halt, nearly overbalancing comically at the tree line as its eyes surveyed the inexplicable scene and Jake continued to pound on Quil.

Secure in his arms, Bella felt Embry turn. He spoke barely above a whisper, "Jake, you're scaring her. You're scaring Bella. I know your wolf wants to kill him, but _she_ doesn't want you to kill him. You can't kill our brother."

His even tone and calm voice were a palliative balm for a few precious moments.

Everyone held their breath.

Bella looked into Jake's eyes and quaked with fear in Embry's hold. There was none of _her Jake_ left in those eyes. He was all wolf, like when Quil's wolf had won the battle for his eyes while the battle for control of his body raged on. She whimpered tearfully, retreating into the security of Embry's warm embrace.

It was Jake's breaking point.

His mate sought comfort from his brother.

He'd failed her _again_ and shown her exactly what the monster inside looked like.

He looked at the pulpy, bloody mess of Quil's face and backed away, eyes dropping to the ground, shoulders hunched. He withdrew to the sanctuary of the woods. Stumbling at the tree line, he couldn't even meet the eyes of the four of them as he turned and jumped, phasing mid-air and loosing a long, mournful howl as he fled. The wolf needed to run and Jake let him have his head, giving himself over to his wolf.

Quil dropped to his knees, panting, eyes glassy. He swayed, but was caught in the strong, capable arms of Leah before his face hit the snow.

"You idiot. What did you do this time, Quil?" she whispered to him, cradling in his head in her lap as she sat in the snow, not the least bit concerned about the cold. She continued louder for Embry and Bella's sake, "I've never seen Jake like that. What the hell happened?"

Bella moved to help, but Embry stopped her with a large hand on her belly, "No. I can't order him to behave around you. I'll explain it to Leah once you're safely inside. You have to keep your distance until we know what caused this. I _need_ you to get back inside. You've got to get some warmer clothes and you should check in with your dad before it gets too late. He'll get suspicious if he doesn't hear from you now that the weather is getting bad."

She nodded, shivering as she realized all she had on was Embry's T-shirt and boxers. Reluctantly, she allowed him to lead her inside. He retrieved her bag from his trashed bedroom and set her up to change in his mom's room so he could go check on Quil.

"I'll be right back. Stay put until I come for you, okay?" he begged.

She nodded and he headed for the door.

"Embry?" she whispered.

Catching himself in the doorway to slow his moment, he turned back, "Yeah?"

Words barely audible above a sigh reached his ears, "Is Quil going to be okay?"

"Bells, honestly, in a few hours, you'll never be able to tell when happened out there just now. He'll have a big, juicy burger or three, drink a gallon of Sue's sweet tea. and heal up in no time. Don't worry, okay, honey?"

Nodding silently, she sat on the little chair by the window, curling up on her side into the back of the chair. She drew her knees up to her chest and tried not to start crying again as the images of Quil's battered face flashed through her mind.

The window fogged with her warm breath. Hesitantly, she reached out with one fingertip to touch the condensation, the stinging burn a sharp reminder to her of how cold she was. Not the she cared, but it mattered to Embry, so she'd put some clothes on.

In just a minute.

Finger screaming with the stinging cold of the glass frozen by the storm raging outside, it was a salve to her tortured thoughts. It seemed like she brought nothing but pain and heartbreak. And trouble, always trouble.

She spelled out on the thin pane of glass her regrets to Quil. To Jake. To them all.

_I'm sorry._

—-{}❆{}-—

Embry wasted no time. He headed out back and spoke quietly to Leah. She sat on the bottom step where she'd dragged a barely conscious Quil and tried to prop him up. He lay sprawled across her and the steps, bleeding all over her cheap, ugly T-shirt dress.

"So, you heard?" Embry murmured.

"I was on patrol. It was a pretty noisy ass-beating," she shrugged.

"Is your mom home?"

"She's probably just getting home from the clinic. You want to call her?"

"I'll call ahead if you want, but I think you should take Quil over there, get him away from Bella and keep him away until we figure out what the fuck is happening to him and why. Jake nearly ripped his face off trying to rearrange it with his fists because Quil scared her by trying _not_ to mark her. Problem is, something might be wrong with Quil's wolf around humans, so he can't be alone with your mom either."

"Fuck," she breathed, stroking Quil's shaggy curls away from the blood that was beginning to coagulate at the corner of his eye. "What brought this on?" She studied Quil's slowly healing face as she awaited an answer.

"Lee, I wish I knew. I'd carry him over there myself, but I'm on Bella duty right now and Quil's wolf is reacting to Bella like he fucking _owns_ her. That's why you need to stay with your mom while she works on him. He could give her the slip or have some weird reaction to another human. We don't know. I have to keep the two of them apart for sure until I can talk to Jake and figure this thing out," he rubbed a hand over his chest to soothe an ache he hadn't noticed until now and looked up at the house, deep in thought. "I better get back to Bells. She's still pretty freaked out."

"Jesus," Leah shook her head, tenderly cradling Quil as he started to come to and some of his gashes began to knit themselves closed. She whispered to him quietly, "Quil? You up for a walk to cool off and go see my mom or you want me to carry you?"

He laughed weakly, muttering deliriously, "Hot girl wants … me."

Leah rolled her eyes and Embry explained, "He means 'hot girl wants _to carry_ me'. It's, like, a compliment."

"Comp'imennn," Quil nodded, slurring. "Girrlll … hot … asssss… Hot-ta-ta ass girrlll."

She looked to Embry for the translation, but he shrugged, "Don't ask me. Maybe Jake rattled his cage just enough to finally admit he thinks you have a hot ass."

She snickered, "Only time he'd be brave enough to think it was okay."

She looked suspiciously at Embry, "You better not be fucking looking either, asswipe."

"Hey, hey! Not me! I've got … I've got enough on my plate right now," Embry's gaze drifted back up to the house and Leah paused.

"That girl's got nothing for you but a world of hurt," she warned quietly, hefting Cassanova Quil into her arms. "You deserve better than the girl who knows exactly what she wants and fears actually getting it all at the same time. She's a bucket of fucking work, that one."

"Leah … is that boobs … shirt … happy to see me?" Quil muttered nonsensically as his arm brushed against Leah's chest.

She snorted, "Idiot," and tightened her grip to trap his arm between them so it couldn't wander while she walked.

"You want to take my Jeep?" Embry offered, concerned for his pack sister. He hated dumping the Quil mess in her lap, but he couldn't leave Bells alone, unprotected and possibly in shock after her ordeal with Quil and then witnessing Jake losing his big Alpha marbles on Quil. "I don't know how it'll be on the roads, but having my Jeep's gotta be better than carting his hamburger ass the mile back to your house through the woods."

She waved him off with a hand under Quil's shoulders, "I'll just run him over to the clinic and call my mom from there. It's not far and the clinic staff knows what's what with the pack. They'll get him settled and clean him up while we wait for her."

"If he needs anything-"

"I'll take care of it," Leah promised. "He'll be fine in a few hours. You've got your hands full with the danger magnet, there." She nodded toward the house.

Embry's feet pulled him several steps closer to the back door without his awareness before he caught himself. Shaking it off, he looked to Leah whose head was cocked curiously, watching him in fascination.

Tipping her head back and motioning to the house with her chin, she told him, "Go ahead. I've got this."

As in all things, Embry didn't have to be told twice. He looked at her gratefully, and dashed to the stairs, taking them three at a time. He disappeared inside as Leah stood there, thinking he was acting an awful lot like Jake all of a sudden. _That girl_, she thought, shaking her head and high-stepping away through the drifting snow with her arms full of bloody werewolf. _That girl will either be our savior or our downfall. Only time will tell. Jake needs to pull his head out of his ass and tell her what she did, even if she didn't mean it. Even if she makes a different choice in the long run. Time for somebody to take responsibility for this shit and fix it once and for all. _

—-{}❆{}-—

Embry returned to the bedroom where he'd left Bella, expecting the worst. Curled in on herself and rocking almost imperceptibly in the chair he'd left her in, she wasn't far from it. She _had_ managed to get changed into some purple stretchy yoga pants and a soft black cotton jersey tank from her bag. Tumbling brown curls framed her worried face as she read a message on her phone.

Looking up at the sound of Embry's deliberate footfalls, she explained in a muted voice, "My dad called. This storm's going to be some kind of big, freak meteorological event, like a Pacific hurricane with three feet of snow and tornado-force winds. He said there's already been a dozen accidents and he's going to be out all night dealing with more, from the sound of it. He doesn't want me on the road to drive home, so he told me to see if I could crash at a friend's out here tonight."

Embry's stomach leapt into his throat, then settled. Of course she meant Jake's. That's what Charlie would have meant.

"I… I'm not sure…" her lip wobbled a little before she caught it with her top teeth, keeping her eyes on the floor while she fiddled with the seam of the pants at her knee.

Embry moved to sit in front of her, his head still at eye level even though he sat on the floor, "Bells, you can stay here if you want, until we figure this out. For as long as you need to. I can make a few calls, see if the others can cover my patrols. You shouldn't be alone til we know more anyway."

"I … could I make you dinner? It'll give me time to think before we talk about all of this and I- I guess I'll think about staying here, too," her voice wavered and she tucked a loose curl behind her ear, dropping her eyes to the floor.

"Whatever you need, honey," he promised, tipping her chin up with a finger. "Come on. Let's go raid the freezer. Mom stocked up before she left."

—-{}❆{}-—

Ms. Call had indeed stocked up. Bella found everything she needed to make a meal of Embry's favorite foods. She made meatloaf with homemade Thomas sauce, cheddar mashed potatoes, candied carrots, and fresh-baked bread. Concerned about making sure he had leftovers to pick at with his mom gone for the week, she also made three extra meatloaves and baked four spare loaves of bread so he could have meatloaf sandwiches whenever he wanted.

While she kneaded the bread and her hands were occupied, Embry plied her gently with questions. Her voice trembled, but she told him everything, blushing when she got to the part about walking in on Quil jerking off and saying her name.

Embry snorted at that, but the smile slid off his face quickly as she continued.

When she was done, she was relieved, but her body shook at the remembered fear, those moments in the bathroom when she knew it was pointless to run.

She said as much.

Embry itched to to touch her, to make it okay.

Then her very real fear of Jacob in the backyard, when she'd been truly afraid of the monster in him for the first time in her life. Jacob had seen it in her eyes and she hated that he thought she'd seen him as a monster, even if only for a moment. She loved him, monster and all.

She told Embry that, too.

The burden shared, she felt a little lighter, but she still cried. For Quil. For Jake. For herself. She needed the release; two fat tears rolling down her cheeks unleashed a waterfall and her tiny body shook as she let it all out.

Embry had no words of comfort to offer. He couldn't imagine feeling so helpless. Holding her while she wept, he did the only thing knew how—silently offering to shoulder as much of her burden as he could, promising to keep her safe from Quil's temporary madness and help her fix things with his other best friend.

—-{}❆{}-—

"So, you gonna stay?" Embry mumbled against her temple when she finally settled down.

A night in a bed with a werewolf just down the hall sounded really appealing after all the nights she'd spent alone recently while Jake patrolled looking for Victoria. Even though their relationship was casual, they still slept together quite a bit whenever they could. Charlie was well aware that they slept in the same bed sometimes.

He wasn't aware that they were slightly more than friends. Charlie still thought of Jacob as a kid. Jake slept on top of the covers and he always kept a few inches of space between himself and Bella when they were aware enough to maintain that boundary. Not that he hadn't found the two of them from time to time in each other's arms, but it was only natural, he thought. Everybody knew Jake was a big hugger. Jake also had very good ears and could dress and be on top of the covers long before Charlie could climb the stairs or get out of bed in the morning. If Charlie wasn't complaining about finding Jake in her bed occasionally, far be it from them to straighten him out as to why.

Brushing her fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck, she sighed, "I'd like that."

"I'll go make up my bed with fresh sheets for you-" he began, but she cut him off with a whimper. "What, honey?"

"Can I- Would you mind if I sleep on the couch? I don't know if I could sleep in there. After…" her lip shook, fingers twisting nervously in the hem of his shirt in the back. Cool little fingers brushed his heated skin and lit up his senses like a bottle rocket.

"Bells, that couch is old and lumpy. You'll look like Quasimofo in the morning. I'd offer you Mom's, but-"

"No! Oh, no. I couldn't sleep in your mom's bed." Shaking her head, she started backing out of his embrace.

Tightening his arms, he drew her back in, bargaining with her, "How about this? How about … um … I'll go straighten up my room, new sheets and all that, and I'll blow up an air mattress and stay in there with you?"

She shifted from foot to foot, her face a mask of uncertainty, "Embry … it's unsettling. It's not just about the thing with his wolf losing his poo. It's not every day you walk in on a guy, you know? A guy you found wanting you, saying your name like that while he tugs one out listening to you playing a little solitaire yourself in the tub, you know?"

"Can't say I do," he tried not to chuckle, but one escaped.

"Emb…" she whined. "He freaking finished while I stood there in shock. I mean, he looked right at me when he came. It was…" she squirmed, "really disturbing."

"I know it's weird, but, honestly, it's not even the first time Quil has been caught making Beef-stroke-it-off in my room," he said with a laugh and a shake of his head, running a soothing hand across the little strip of bare skin below Bella's tank top.

Giggles burst from her throat against her will. Little bursts of warm air puffed against his throat with each one. Fighting to hold them in only made it worse. Throwing her head back, she let it all out—the laughter every bit as cathartic as the tears had been earlier.

"Okay," she finally agreed, kissing the bare skin of Embry's shoulder. "I'll stay, but I'm on the air mattress."

"No deal," he shook his head, placing a hand between her shoulders blades and dipping her back a few inches so she could see the mischief in his eyes as he said, "It's the first time a girl has agreed to spend the night with me. I only get bragging rights if you sleep in _my_ bed."

It was another ploy to make her laugh. She knew he'd never brag to the others about her sleeping with him—if she ever did. He was too good for that, so much like Jake that way, she thought with a sigh.

—-{}❆{}-—

While she sent her dad a text to let him know she was crashing with one of Jake's friends for a few nights, Embry changed out the old blue striped sheets on his bed for a set of soft pale green sheets. They were made of something that felt like the material of her favorite old band T-shirt from the time her mom had taken her to see Edie Brickell and the New Bohemians open for the Dead the summer before she turned nine.

It was a nice memory to trigger of a simpler time as she got cozy and tried to make herself comfortable again in his space. Embry had loaned her an old pair of thick hiking socks that were so long, she'd pulled them up over her knees. Worried she'd overheat, she decided to sneak off to the bathroom with her bag to change into some sleep shorts. Embry had already seen her in less, so she didn't feel as self-conscious as she might have in the tiny coral shorts that said "Schlitterbahn" across the bum—another Renee acquisition from a road trip two summers ago to the famous water park. The "Schlitterbahn" had given them both a case of the giggles. Bella had no idea her mother bought them until she opened a box the following Christmas and found them inside with a framed picture of the two of them on the water coaster. Renee knew by then that Bella was leaving to live with Charlie for the last few months of school—had just told her, in fact—and Renee wanted her to have lots of fun memories of sun and fun to take with her to dreary Forks.

Bella smiled fondly. If only her mother knew she'd found her sun in a garage in La Push and the fun came to join them not long after when his two best friends strolled in to meet her for the first time. That's what Jake and Embry were to her—sun and fun, in a place that was often anything but.

The re-made bed with the big fluffy duvet was calling her name. After helping Embry blow up an air mattress that she regarded suspiciously as being way too tiny for a werewolf, he assured her it was plenty big enough and that no bed was really long enough for his lanky frame these days anyway.

Looking askance at him, then to his relatively new king size bed, she had to admit that it wasn't long enough—if he had to share—but if he slept alone, he could sleep corner to corner and he'd fit just fine.

It was on the tip of her tongue to say so when he interrupted her brooding thoughts. "No, it's fine. I've slept phased in the forest after a long patrol before. Seriously, I can sleep just about anywhere. This, this is the Hilton compared to some places I've slept wolf," he said with a smile, pointing to the air mattress.

He had changed as well, into just a thin pair of boxers. There was a sheet on the air mattress, but no other bed covers which was easily explained away by his body heat, she supposed, but she had to ask, "You're sure you won't get cold on the floor with no blanket?"

"Bells… No. One-oh-eight-point-nine, remember? Rain practically evaporates when it hits me." He motioned her over to his bed after his was made up to suit him. "Go ahead and get comfortable. I'm just going to check in with the pack one more time before I hit the sack."

Straightening her little black tank with a tug at the back to pull it down to cover her back as she climbed into bed, she moved tentatively, crawling up the acre of bed and tucking her feet under the edge of the duvet and top sheet.

She curled up on her side and pulled the pillow down to clutch at one end while her head rest on the other.

Embry laughed a little on the inside. She looked like a little kid curling up with a teddy bear.

"Try to get some sleep," he said, kissing her forehead, brushing the little cowlick out of her eyes with the tip of his nose so he could press another to her temple. "I'm just going to grab my phone and make a few calls in the living room so I don't disturb you."

A little hand darted out from beneath the covers, catching him by surprise. "Don't. Don't go. Please?"

"Bells, I have to call-"

"You can call from in here. I don't mind."

"Okay. I'll get my phone and be right back. Okay?" He squeezed her hand in reassurance and stepped out, grateful for wolf speed for human tasks for once.

It took mere seconds. Bella didn't even have time to settle into the pillow again before his return.

He turned the lights off, leaving the door open a crack so the light from the bathroom across the hall could spill in just in case she needed to get up for some reason in the middle of the night. She smiled that Embry would think of that knowing that with his eyesight, he wouldn't need the light for himself.

While he sat at the end of the bed and made made his calls and sent a few texts, Bella turned over. She was at the far edge of the bed. She took up hardly any space, she realized as Embry stood quietly and clicked his phone off before placing it on an improvised night stand by his air mattress—a chair so he wouldn't knock over the glass of water that sat on it in his sleep.

"This is ridiculous, Emb," she said as he tried to lay down quietly on the squeaky air mattress.

"What?" he sat up, a look of worry crossing his face.

"Me, alone in your bed. I take up like eight inches of space. Come up here with me. I won't bite."

"Bells, that's not what I'm worried about…"

"Then what is it?" she asked, scootching up the bed to rest her back against the headboard.

"I didn't think you'd want anyone that close to you so soon after the thing with Quil. Even me," he admitted ruefully.

"Oh. Oh, Embry, no, honey. No. C'mere," she insisted.

After some more squeaking and maneuvering, she felt the far side of the bed dip before she slid a little towards the center and his greater mass.

She felt rather than saw him reach out. He didn't touch her, but she knew his hand was there, knew right where it was before she tentatively reached out, too. She tucked her hand inside his. Growing brave, she slid closer at the same time that he had a similar idea. They laughed at their uncertainty and finally settled together in the middle of the bed.

There was something she needed to know before she could rest though, "Emb?"

"Yeah?" his warm breath tickled the hair at the crown of her head.

"I know you spoke to Leah," she tried to swallow, but it got stuck in her throat. She managed to croak, "Is Quil okay?"

His hand stroked her hair away from her face as he placed a kiss on her forehead, "He's fine. Embarrassed, mostly. He has no idea what came over his wolf. He said to tell you how sorry he is." He chuckled, "He also said to tell you you're like a really hot sister to him and he thinks maybe his wolf has a little crush on you."

"Embry, you and I both know no imprinted wolf is going to have a little crush or develop a sudden obsession like that overnight," she worried.

"No—I know—but let's not borrow trouble from tomorrow, okay? Let's just take each moment, like this one right now, and enjoy it while it's here. Breathe in, breathe out, move on.*"

That sounded pretty reasonable to Bella. She lay her head on his chest and fell asleep thinking how nice it was to listen to the comforting thump of his heart.

He smiled into the hair at the top of her head as he felt her finally relax into the breathing patterns of true sleep. He soon followed, drifting off after her, moments later, with her little paw still tucked inside his own.

Bella drifted for a time, between wake and sleep, feeling nothing but the reassuring cadence of his pulse beneath her head as the beat eventually slowed and became the bass, the heat slicked her skin with sweat, and her body rocked into a new tempo as visions formed behind restless eyelids.

—-{}❆{}-—

_I feel the thumping bass in my chest like a living, breathing thing. Its familiar beat reminds me of something, something just beyond my grasp, elusive, lurking in the shadowed corners of my mind._

_Hot hands, bodiless hands, reach out from the dark, tracing my curves as I move sinuously to the beat, feeling the music with every part of me. I let it lead me, spinning around, leaning into those hot hands. They touch, everywhere. It suddenly feels like there are four instead of two. Burning hot hands. Hands I feel like I should know, but the thought drifts away almost as soon as it comes because I'm about to come, too. _

_The hands work my body between them while I continue to bump my hips back and forth to the grinding music, feeling it pulse in my solar plexus as two hands work my nipples, thumbs and forefingers deliciously wet and feverishly worrying the sensitive nubs to hardened peaks as the other two hands explore my soft, perfumed flesh._

_I don't normally wear perfume. I choose unscented things. Someone, someone prefers my natural scent, my honeysuckle, he calls it._

_My body is warm already, hot from the exertion. The music fuels my need to move, My body pulses with every beat as I curve into the seeking hands, encouraging their hedonistic exploration as I gyrate just out of reach of that tingling sensation that tells me someone is there, just a hair's breadth away, perched in that chair that I know sits just beyond the spotlight I'm in, waiting to draw me in to bump and and grind on his lap, to dance solely for him, exist—for a moment—only for him and his pleasure. My clit throbs as two fingers find it in the darkness, an arm wrapped around my waist from behind draws me against a chiseled chest and rock hard abs. _

_I gush. _

_I sway._

_Raising my arms, I pull the hair off the nape of my neck, twirling it in one hand and piling it on my head out of the way while I pop one hip, the other, and back in thumping mimicry of the beat._

_I let go of my hair, running my hands down my torso, realizing for the first time that I'm naked. _

_I can see myself._

_If I can see me, I could see the hands, the arms, more._

_I turn to find a shadowed silhouette in a chair just out of reach. Two hands grip the arm rests. He watches me as the other two hands continue to search and probe every part of me, looking for weaknesses, trying to pull throaty moans from me as the other watches._

_I like that he's watching. I want to give him more._

_I grab the hand that is circling my clit with skilled fingers, brushing it aside to use my own. The hands move aside deferentially, one wraps around my middle, holding me up, displaying me for the one who watches. The other hand twists itself into my hair, pulling my head back, baring my throat, bowing my body back into a seductive arch._

_I spread my legs, but continue to rotate my hips, working my clit in opposition to the sway of my pelvis, running my other hand down the sweat-slicked flesh of my throat, my breasts, my belly._

_The scent of honeysuckle envelops the room like a cloud, the clinging sweetness must be pleasant to the owners of the hot hands still behind me. _

_I feel more. _

_The hardened length of an eager cock._

_I lick my lips in anticipation. _

_I lick my lips for my audience. _

_I want him to watch that cock disappear between my lips. _

_I lower my free hand to reach back. The hands pull me close, rubbing that length of silk-coated steel against the cushion of my ass. _

_One of the hands disappears for a moment, reappearing quickly as it gathers the moisture from his cock._

_I feel the hands spreading me gently, running a hot finger down the crease of ass, stroking me, running a searching digit around the rim curiously, waiting to see my reaction. _

_I jump._

_A voice whispers in my ear, "Later."_

_My pussy drips._

_The shadow, the one watching from the chair leans forward. I still can't see his face._

_It doesn't matter. Hands touching me again. That's what matters. Just don't stop touching me. That's all I need. Touch. Fuck. Touch me. Never stop touching me._

_The shadow's hands reach for me, turning me around. He draws me down to his lap._

_He's naked. _

_I shudder in anticipation. _

_He rubs the tip of his cock along my dripping crease, splitting my lips with a gentle thrust, a testing one._

_He doesn't want to hurt me. He knows he's big._

_And I'm so very small._

_The burning stretch is exquisite as he enters me, pulling me down flush to the base. He arranges my legs so I straddle his, baring me for the inspection of the other._

_The hands now in front of me, the ones belonging to the whisperer, return to touch my breasts, pinching my nipples for good measure as the one behind me guides my hips, rocking me in his lap, one hand curved around the front of my hip to work my aching clit. A hand_—_I'm not sure whose_—_strokes lower, running seeking fingers over my quivering belly and soft curls. _

_He's gathering moisture. My pussy is full. My back is turned. I wonder what he could possibly have in mind-_

"_Bella," the whisperer's voice calls to me._

_I know that voice, but that's impossible. Why would __he_ _be here? This is a strip club and I'm naked. He's not old enough for a lap dance, is he?_

"_You're sixteen, right?" I ask._

"_Yup, just had my birthday in September—right after yours. Don't get distracted, Bells. You better hang on tight if you wanna keep your seat on that hard dick you got there."_

_I smile, dropping my hands behind each flank to grip one of my shadowy lover's thighs._

_He moans and thrusts up into me hard._

_A reminder: he'll fuck me his way and I'll take it and like it and scream for him._

"_You know why they call me 'Baby' Clearwater, Bella?" his face finally comes into view as he poses his question._

"_No, Seth. Why? Is it because you're the youngest?" I ask as I ride the cock beneath me—not Seth's. The shadowy other. I squeeze him with my inner muscles to let him know I haven't forgotten him and he releases a low growl._

_Ah… another wolf, I realize. Not that the stinging stretch of the enormous horse cock between my legs would have indicated otherwise. Only wolfboys come in __this_ _size._

"_Uh-uh. S'because I like boobs. Love 'em. Can't get enough of 'em. Think about 'em all the time. Especially yours," he runs his hands up the sides of my breasts, squeezing them together gently, appreciating his handiwork as they come together nicely to create a little valley between the pillowy mounds. He ducks down to run his tongue along that cleft, leaving a glistening trail of his hot saliva in its wake. He pulls back an inch or two and blows on the damp flesh, watching my skin prickle with goosebumps and my nipples harden once more in response._

_I tip my head back, a low moan of desire issuing from my throat as my lower belly tightens in anticipation._

_My pussy throbs once, twice, three times, pulsing with the slick evidence of my need._

_The pace of the cock inside me quickens as the friction lessens with each new flood of arousal from my pussy. He moves me so quickly, a suction forms between us, and I can can feel my tight channel drag over the head of his cock with each pass. He begins to pant, closing in on his release._

"_Whadda ya wanna do, Bella?" he murmurs in my ear._

"_Just wanna see your cock, Seth. Just like the others. Got somethin' to prove to Jake now," I purse my lips, dropping my gaze to his long, hard dick._

_He's naked. _

_Was he naked before?_

"_You just want to see it? That's all?" he taunts me, one hand stroking his foreskin down and up, over the head, like a glove._

_I want to run my tongue inside that warm fold of skin, pull it back gently, and nibble at the silky, sensitive flesh underneath._

_But he has other things in mind._

"_What do you want, 'Baby' Clearwater?" I ask on a deep exhale as the hands of my shadow lover grip my hips hard, slamming me down on him in a punishing rhythm. _

_My breasts bounce with every thrust and Seth's eyes gleam in contemplation._

_I run my tongue down the taut, fevered skin of his rock-hard abs, but he stops me._

"_Not like that," he says, grabbing me by the arms and pulling me back up to my full height as I bounce on that hard cock._

_Gotta be a wolfboy. No human has that kind of stamina._

"_I'm a more visual creature than my brothers, Bella. I like to see all the action," he tells me a smoky voice, roughened with the necessity of rapid aging._

_He pushes my breasts together and looks at them for a moment in wonder before he lowers his head and licks the valley in between. Long, slow licks, nipple to nipple, with lots of saliva. My skin cools and tingles, but it never has a chance to dry. He squeezes them together again and I feel the hard, rounded end of something…_

_Oh… Oh, Seth… I smile in pleasure now that I understand._

_I let go of the thighs of my other lover and push my breasts together for Seth._

"_No," he says. "Let me. You'll need your hands." _

_The promise of that makes me shudder. _

_I can only imagine._

"_Lean back a little, but tip your chin down. Can you do that?"_

_I can. _

_I reach back, one arm circling the neck of my determined shadow lover. _

_I turn my head and press my lips to his throat._

_He growls._

_Warm, sticky honeysuckle runs down my thighs as I drench him again._

_I like this game, I think with a snicker._

_Seth holds my breasts together firmly and thrusts between them, his length making it possible for me to lean forward and wrap my lips around the head._

_He moans. His head, a pendulum swinging above the broad expanse of unyielding caramel shoulders. _

_His shaggy hair falls in his eyes. He flicks it impatiently out of his way, determined not to miss a second of the feast for his eyes sprawled out before him in the lap of the other._

_He picks up speed, thrusting harder, faster. _

_His grunts beat out a tattoo, a tribal beat that matches the one in my throat as I try to take him in, hold him with my mouth._

_I can't hold him in my mouth at first. It's frustrating. I want it, so I keep at it until he shortens his strokes. I hollow my cheeks and reach forward to fondle his tight sack. I can only imagine how much it must ache, the way my pussy aches, the greedy bitch. She always wants more._

_He groans and hisses, "Touch yourself, Bella. Your other hand. Strum that clit while he fucks you."_

_I do. _

_Moving my hand from his balls to his hip for balance, I need no encouragement to stroke myself. There's so much moisture, a swipe of my fingers is all it takes and I'm rubbing my clit furiously. My belly tightens and I know I'm close._

_I grunt with every thrust now. I can practically feel the cock beneath me in my throat from the force of each thrust as Seth fucks my mouth. _

_My shadow lover tries to to fuck me into oblivion._

_Seth's breathing is becoming erratic. My other lover is bucking wildly into me. _

_I can feel my pleasure barreling down on me like a freight train when Seth whispers, "Let go, Bella. Come for us."_

_Another voice moans in my ear, my shadow lover finally revealed, "Yesss… Fuck. You're so wet. So tight. No imprint fucks like you. The Alpha's bitch. You're made for this. Just this. Only this. Come for us." His voice changes, deepens, becomes more serious, "If not for us… do it for him. Make him claim you or __we_ _will. Take what's yours. Ask him about the mark." _

_His teeth sink into the tender white flesh of my throat and I shatter._

_I shatter at the sound of Paul's erotic intercession, screaming my pleasure, my pain, giving myself over, knowing he's right. They're mine, I'm theirs. This is meant._

—-{}❆{}-—

"No, no not only that. More. I'm more. Love him. Jacob…" she murmured sleepily into Embry's throat, nipping at the taut skin over the pronounced tendons there. She turned on her side, disturbed by the images in her dream, by her reactions to them, by the things whispered at the peak of their shared passion. "No, not mine," she continues, "Jacob, Embry … mine."

Embry smiled in his sleep and turned over, spooning up behind Bella, unconsciously quieting her distress with the caress of a hand over her twitching hip as he sank back down into the strangest and most perfect dream.

Bella tucked herself into his welcoming heat, mumbling, "Jacob. Embry … yours."

Embry's hold tightened and he roused just enough to croon the reassurances she needed, "Shh… s'just a ni'mare … I'm here now, m'here." He buried his nose in her throat, rubbing gently, tickling the soft spot below her earlobe with his warm nose, he murmured, "Go t'sleep ... s'okay. Sweet dreams, Bells." He kissed her and she drifted again, implicitly trusting in him, even in sleep, to lead and she would follow him into dreamland.

—-{}❆{}-—

_Embry murmurs in my ear, "You ever ridden a wolf, Bells?"_

_"Just ... just Jake's," I whimper uncertainly, wondering where this new dream scenario will take me next._

_"I'm not talking about riding my wolf, honey," a slow, lazy grin spreads across his face as he slides inside me, lifting my torso until I get the idea and pull myself upright. He grabs my hands, lacing our fingers together to give me leverage._

_I push myself up with his strong, sure hands and my hips begin to work without conscious thought, a rocking, circling grind, seeking the hot friction of his lower abdomen against my clit as I push my body up and back, bowing backward so all I can see over the long slope of my breasts and peaked dusky nipples are his eyes, those intense eyes, hooded with lust, staring back at me. Dragging deep, panting breaths over his full parted lips, his tongue flicks out, moistening his lower one. It glistens and all I want to do in that moment is suck the damp, fullness of it between __my_ _lips, sink my teeth into it. I want to taste him, Embry._

_So I do._

_He lets go of my hands, his hands sliding down my lower back, gripping my ass, lifting me to grind my pelvis hard against his as __he_ _does the circling now. His lower abs catch me in just the right spot and I'm coming mindlessly as he captures my surprised cry in the depths of his seeking mouth._

_The sharp tang of desire is muted in the first flush of orgasm. I rest my head in the crook of his neck, licking at that spot again, __my_ _spot, my cool breath raising goosebumps on his skin there_—_only there. I continue to ride him, slower now, my movements more deliberate, luxuriating in the feel of his hard, silky length working a delicious friction in my soaking channel. It's like every nerve-ending within me is magnified and all I feel is his cock and that delicious, unabating ache for more._

_Hot hands grab my ribs, gently lifting me upright once more so he can see my face. His hands return to mine, holding me up. His pleased smile is infectious. I rock harder as that slow grin spreads to my face, too, before I throw my head back and snap my hips, catching him by surprise._

_He moans, "Fuuucck, so good, honey. Yeah, just like that." He groans, thrusting up to meet my rotating pelvis, building up the burning friction we both crave._

"_Embry, mmm … more," I beg, closing my eyes._

_My breathing becomes choppy, little breathless grunts escaping every time he thrusts hard up into my willing body, battering my cervix with his throbbing length._

_He tips his chin down, pulling himself together, expression turning serious, "You really think you're ready for more?"_

_"More?" I pant. Isn't that what I just asked for? I wonder. eyebrows winging up in surprise as my grip tightens on our interlaced fingers. _

_His curl into mine in a reassuring gesture, "Mmm … yeah. Lots more," he gives a sharp nod, pointing over my shoulder with his chin._

_I follow the line of his gaze to the bronze god standing at the end of the bed, stroking his cock lazily, eyes hooded with lust._

_"Jake," I breathe in disbelief and … pleasure, I realize, still rocking on Embry. I'm glad Jake's here. I want this. I want them. I look down at Embry, then back at Jake, wondering if I could really be that lucky. Could I have both? No regrets? No guilt?_

_Jake presses his hard body against my back, kneeling behind me on the edge of the bed, one hand sliding around my ribs, dipping down the long, smooth expanse of my belly to rub me just above where Embry and I are joined. He lets his hand drift, touching my soaked lips stretched taut around Embry's cock, stroking us both._

_Embry groans, not the least bothered by his Alpha's sensual touch._

_Jake gathers our combined wetness on two blunt fingertips, pulling the moisture up my slick folds to rub the pads of those blazing hot fingertips in frenzied circles around my throbbing clit._

_I feel his length press against my back, the moisture at the tip sticking to my skin, making me shudder with desire._

_Embry squeezes my hands to pull my attention away from Jake long enough to ask, "Tell us what you want, Bella. Do you want us both? You want us to make love to you-"_

_Jake cuts him off, whispering in my ear, "Or do you want us to fuck you, show you what we've been dreaming about doing to you for weeks?"_

"_Both of you?" I catch my lip in my teeth, waiting for the other shoe to drop, waiting for them to crack up and laugh it off as a joke._

_They don't laugh._

_"You want both?" Embry asks slyly, letting go of my hands to run them up my torso, cupping my heaving breasts in his hands. "You only have to ask."_

_Never once had I needed to beg either of them for the intimacy of their touch. Until now._

"_Yes," I exhale loudly., chanting my answer like a litany, "Oh god, yes. Please. I want both and both. Love me, fuck me, make me forget, show me, just once, here, that I'm enough."_

_I let myself go, let them take over, rocking me between them. Jake forces a place for himself at my untried opening. Thank god it's a dream this first time. There's no pain, only pleasure as he enters me. Pressure. _

_Embry moans again, "Fuck, Jake! She feels so good, so tight." He throws his head back, the corded muscles in his neck straining as he tenses and relaxes, panting, "I can feel you. Fuuucck, I can feel you both." He changes his grip, holding me tenderly in one arm, reaching out with the other to steady us, gripping Jake tightly at the thigh. _

_I feel Jake's thigh flex in response and I know, he feels Embry, too._

_Jakes moans in answer to Embry's outburst, rocking an endless rhythm opposite Embry's as they push and pull me between them._

_The friction—FUCK!—the friction builds, it climbs. It almost burns, but it's a good burn. The very best kind. _

_Embry's reverent whisper is low, but I can just make it out. "Love your beautiful body, Bells. Your pussy's so tight with Jake inside you, too. I'm gonna come, fill you with come. Me and my wolf. God, what I wouldn't give to see you grow full with my pup," he growls. "So beautiful."_

_Jake leans over my back, pulling me up against his chest. Embry takes the opportunity to roll my nipples between nimble fingers, bringing me ever closer to the edge as Jake croons for my ears only, "You were meant to be worshiped, Bells. Every part of you, every way, every day for the the rest of our lives, I will worship this body with mine. Love it with mine. There will be pups, but first there will be loving. Come for me now and I'll give you more and more and more. Come for me, Bells."_

_Their teeth clamp down on either side of my throat simultaneously and I come and come and come some more._

_They howl into their marks together, hitting their peak and forcing me over once more as I call out their names and scream, "Yes! Yours! More!"_

—-{}❆{}-—

She woke up to Embry crooning quietly and holding her tightly against his chest.

His hand was under her tank top, just below her breasts. The other was pillowed beneath her head. He wanted to touch her, but he was maintaining his tenuous hold on her established sleeping boundaries until she gave him permission otherwise.

"Embry," she whimpered, shifting a little under the blankets.

"Are you okay, honey?" he asked just before the thick scent of her arousal wafted up to his sensitive nose as the duvet moved.

The fly of his boxer shorts gave way as his cock lengthened and hardened from her nearness and her obvious arousal. It pressed against her back, sticking obscenely to the skin bared by her tank top riding up in her sleep.

"Jake, Embry, yes, yours," she murmured sleepily, rubbing her ass against a dick hard enough to hammer nails.

Embry was the one whimpering then.

"Embry," she gasped as her eyes popped open.

She took a moment, orienting herself, before one tiny hand slid behind her back, down his abs, and gripped his bare cock as it poked her in the back.

She sighed, like that was all she needed, wanted, as she writhed against him, determined not to lose the thread of her dream, "Yes, Embry. Ohhh… yes, more."

"Yes?" he squeaked.

"Now," she demanded.

❅_.¸¸ . ✶*¨*. ¸ ._❆_*¨*.¸¸.✶*¨'*_❅

*With thanks to Jimmy Buffett for the loan of some sage advice.

Review if you like, folks. I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it.


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